US Expects Allies to Join China Export Controls, Nat. Sec. Adviser Says

The U.S. expects allies to eventually impose similar semiconductor export controls against China, said National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, echoing comments by Commerce Department officials earlier this year (see 2210270047 and 2211040014). Sullivan, speaking Nov. 30 during a conference hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the South Korean JoongAng media group, said the U.S. “engaged in intensive consultations” with South Korea and Japan before the administration's latest chip controls were released in October (see 2210070049), which ultimately shaped how the restrictions were crafted and could lead to those two countries and other joining the U.S.

Sullivan said the October controls "protected our national security but also mitigated unintended impacts to Korean industry." He said the U.S. was "gratified by the level of coordination and alignment there" and is “continuing to engage on the logic behind those export controls” with allies. “Those are sensitive conversations that are ongoing,” Sullivan said, “and we expect that they will bear fruit.”

At the same time, the U.S. is also trying to make sure the new controls are “tailored,” Sullivan said, “because we really do want them focused on core national security concerns and not sweeping too broadly.” He also said the U.S. is trying to work more closely with allies on investment screening measures to prevent China and others from acquiring advanced technologies.

“Export controls is only one piece of that,” he said. “There's investment screening, there's supply chain resilience, there's research partnerships.” By “putting that together, we can build a collective approach to the technologies that will drive the industries of the future.”

Along with chip export controls, Sullivan said, the U.S. is continuing to push for export restrictions on items used in human rights violations. “We have multilateral efforts that are very much apace right now to align international export control regulations with our human rights objectives,” he said.