The Biden administration is weighing additional curbs on sales of semiconductor equipment and AI memory chips to China that would escalate the US crackdown on Beijing’s tech ambitions but stop short of some stricter measures previously considered, according to people familiar with the matter.
The restrictions could be unveiled as soon as next week, said the people, who emphasized that the timing and contours of the rules have changed several times, and that nothing is final until they’re published. The measures follow months of deliberations by US officials, negotiations with allies in Japan and the Netherlands, and intense lobbying by American chip equipment makers who’ve warned that tougher measures would bring catastrophic harm to their business.