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By Alexandra Alper
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Biden administration is set to unveil new export restrictions on China as soon as next week, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce told members in a Thursday email.
The new regulations could add up to 200 Chinese chip companies to a trade restriction list that bars most U.S. suppliers from shipping goods to the targeted firms, the email from the powerful Washington-based lobbying group said, according to an excerpt seen by Reuters on Friday.
The Commerce Department, which oversees U.S. export policy, plans to publish the new regulations “prior to the Thanksgiving break,” next Thursday, according to the email.
The Chamber of Commerce did not respond to a request for comment. The Commerce Department declined to comment.
The update, if accurate, shows the Biden administration is plowing ahead with plans to further crack down on China’s access to semiconductors even as the start of Republican President-elect Donald Trump’s second terms in January approaches.
Another set of rules curbing shipments of high-bandwidth memory chips to China is expected to be unveiled next month as part of a broader artificial intelligence package, the email continues.
Biden has slapped a raft of export controls on China aimed at halting its technological advances, amid fears the technology could be used to bolster China’s military.
Sources briefed on the matter said the first round of regulations are likely to include restrictions on chipmaking tool shipments to China.
Reuters reported in July that the U.S. planned to unveil a new package of export controls on China, including adding about 120 Chinese entities to its restricted trade list.
(Reporting by Alexandra Alper; Additional reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by Leslie Adler and Jonathan Oatis)