The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee Passes the Chip Security Act

On Thursday, March 26, the House Foreign Affairs Committee passed a bipartisan-supported bill aimed at curbing the smuggling of American semiconductors to competitors.

The bill, titled the "Chip Security Act," was introduced last May by Republican U.S. Representative Bill Huizenga of Michigan, with co-sponsors from both the Republican and Democratic parties, including John Moolenaar, Republican U.S. Representative from Michigan and Chair of the House Select Committee on U.S.-China Strategic Competition.

The legislation includes the following provisions:

Requiring location authentication for advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips: The U.S. Department of Commerce must ensure that America's most advanced AI chips are not transferred to unauthorized regions or fall into the hands of U.S. competitors.

Implementing mandatory reporting requirements: Chip companies must report and share reliable information regarding the transfer of sensitive technologies to restricted actors.

Researching additional security measures: The U.S. Department of Commerce is required to study further methods to prevent U.S. chips from being stolen, misused, or falling into the wrong hands.

For some time, members of both political parties in the United States have introduced various chip-related bills, and the Chip Security Act is one of them.

Passage by the relevant committee marks another step forward in the legislative process. Next, the bill will be sent to the full House for consideration. For a bill to become law, it must be passed in identical versions by both the House and Senate, and then signed by the President.

In a statement released on Thursday, the House Select Committee on China noted that the Chip Security Act is a direct response to bipartisan concerns expressed by committee members over the transfer of U.S. advanced chips—such as those from Nvidia—to China under export controls.

On Friday, the House Select Committee on China posted again on X, emphasizing: "The Chip Security Act is about protecting one of America’s greatest strategic advantages: advanced semiconductors."

Source: VOA

Original: toutiao.com/article/1860906137221120/

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