By Karen Freifeld
April 22(Reuters) – Micron Technology, the largest U.S. memory chipmaker, is a driving force pushing the U.S. Congress to pass legislation that would put new export restrictions on equipment its Chinese competitors use to make their chips, according to people familiar with the matter.
A U.S. House of Representatives panel on Wednesday is set to vote on the “MATCH Act,” a bill designed to close gaps in restrictions on chipmaking equipment. It would also pressure foreign companies that sell equipment to Chinese chipmaking facilities to align with export curbs on U.S. companies like Lam Research and Applied Materials.
The bill targets facilities operated by China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC), and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, as well as critical technology countrywide.
Micron has told lawmakers that Washington needs to do more to inhibit Chinese development in the memory market, according to people familiar with the matter. They said increased U.S. action is necessary to prevent China from dominating memory chip manufacturing the way it has the solar energy industry and other sectors, and is a national security issue.
Micron did not respond to requests for comment. CXMT, YMTC and SMIC did not respond to requests for comment.
Korean chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix now dominate the memory market, with Micron the No. 3 maker and sole major U.S. supplier.
But YMTC and CXMT are growing fast, despite curbs on exports to them imposed by the U.S. Commerce Department.
YMTC has been on a restricted trade list since 2022. CXMT’s advanced facilities have been subject to U.S. export curbs.
The bill as now drafted would restrict more equipment from going to China — including DUV immersion machines countrywide, a market dominated by Netherlands’ ASML — and legislate how to impose restrictions if diplomacy fails.
It also would require a license for ASML and other foreign companies to service equipment at covered facilities.
Micron representatives have engaged with lawmakers throughout the drafting process, sources said. They added that about a month ago, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra held a closed-door roundtable with members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
He held a similar roundtable last month with Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Micron, based in Boise, Idaho, is building a megafacility in New York. Other companies in the industry are also lobbying on the bill, said one source, citing Tokyo Electron and U.S. toolmakers Lam Research, Applied Materials and KLA, who lose sales from export controls.
