US Commerce Secretary Deems Chip Embargoes Against China “Stupid”

US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo says the US should use its money in a better way. “Trying to hold China back is a fool’s errand,” Secretary Raimondo said. he said.

Thanks to CHIPS and the Science Act, U.S. spending on chip infrastructure last year was more than in the past 28 years combined. Despite this, the Biden administration has continued its efforts to block Chinese companies from purchasing chips from America and semiconductor manufacturing equipment from the Netherlands. In the second one, the headquarters of the Dutch company ASML is located, and this company is the only company in the world that produces Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography (EUV) machines.

“The only way to beat China is to stay ahead of them, we have to run faster, we have to leave them behind. That’s the way to win.” -Gina Raimondo, U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary

Raimondo was behind efforts to transform the Commerce Department into the agency leading efforts to expand the U.S. chip industry. As a result, the Secretary of the US Department of Commerce concluded that it was important to keep sensitive technology out of China’s hands, but sanctions and export controls were nothing more than “speed breakers” preventing China from achieving its ultimate goal of dominating technology globally.

Last year, Raimondo was in China when Huawei introduced the Mate 60 Pro, which has the processor it has produced with its own efforts since the Mate 40 series in 2020. The processor supports 5G, making the device Huawei’s first 5G phone since 2020.