Washington, Feb 11 : Senior US lawmakers have urged the Biden administration to close â??critical gapsâ?? in export controls on semiconductor manufacturing equipment to prevent China from gaining access to advanced chipmaking tools that could boost its military and artificial intelligence capabilities.

In a bipartisan letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast called for â??robust export controlsâ?? and stronger coordination with allies.

They said export controls on semiconductor manufacturing equipment (SME) are â??one of America's most significant points of leverage in our strategic competition with the People's Republic of China.â??

â??These tools are essential not only for producing the advanced AI chips that will shape the future of both economic and military power, but also for manufacturing the legacy chips that go into PLA weapons systems and intelligence platforms,â?? the lawmakers wrote. â??Maintaining restrictions on this equipment is critical to US national security.â??

The letter was also signed by House Foreign Affairs Ranking Member Meeks, South and Central Asia Subcommittee Chairman Bill Huizenga, Ranking Member Sydney Kamlager-Dove, and Congressmen Greg Stanton, Michael Baumgartner, and Johnny Olszewski.

The lawmakers noted that SME controls have been a bipartisan priority across administrations. They pointed to steps taken during the first Trump administration to press the Netherlands to restrict exports of extreme ultraviolet lithography tools to China. They also cited expanded controls under the Biden administration.

â??This continuity reflects a shared recognition across party lines that protecting America's semiconductor advantage is essential to our national security,â?? the letter said.

Despite progress, they warned that â??critical gaps persistâ?? in the export control regime. Of concern, certain foreign-produced chokepoint equipment is controlled only for specified Chinese entities, rather than across the country.

â??Entity-specific controls, while valuable, cannot substitute for countrywide restrictions on the most critical chokepoint tools,â?? the lawmakers wrote. They added that once equipment enters China, the US government has â??extremely limited ability to enforce end-use and end-user restrictions.â??

Citing a recent bipartisan report titled Selling the Forges of the Future and a House hearing on â??Export Control Loopholes: Chipmaking Tools and their Subcomponents,â?? the lawmakers said China has â??significantly accelerated imports of foreign-produced chokepoint equipment in recent years.â??

They noted that Dutch sales to China of advanced lithography equipment doubled from 2022 to 2023 and again from 2023 to 2024. They also referred to recent reporting that China may be upgrading imported tools to exceed export control thresholds.

â??Each chokepoint tool that enters China represents a permanent loss of American leverage,â?? the letter said.

The lawmakers urged the administration to press allies to implement countrywide controls on key chokepoint semiconductor equipment and subcomponents, including those â??that China cannot produce indigenously.â?? They also called for â??clear and reasonable deadlines,â?? after which the United States should be prepared to act on its own if necessary.

â??The window to secure America's semiconductor advantage is narrowing,â?? they wrote, requesting a briefing within the next month on the administrationâ??s strategy.

The debate over chip export controls has intensified as Washington views semiconductor technology as central to both economic competitiveness and national security. The US has tightened restrictions on advanced chips and manufacturing tools in recent years, seeking to curb Chinaâ??s ability to develop cutting-edge AI systems and military technologies.

The Netherlands and Japan, key players in the semiconductor supply chain, have coordinated with Washington on certain restrictions. But differences remain over the scope and enforcement of controls, especially as China pushes for greater self-sufficiency in advanced chipmaking.

/IANS