(Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Commerce said Thursday it will launch a survey of the U.S. semiconductor supply chain and national defense industrial base to address national security concerns from Chinese-sourced chips.
The survey aims to identify how U.S. companies are sourcing so-called legacy chips — current-generation and mature-node semiconductors — as the department moves to award nearly $40 billion in subsidies for semiconductor chips manufacturing.
The department said the survey to begin in January aims to “reduce national security risks posed by” China.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said “over the last few years, we’ve seen potential signs of concerning practices from (China) to expand their firms’ legacy chip production and make it harder for U.S. companies to compete.”
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
