Lawmakers Urge Trump Admin to Exercise Leverage Over China With Chipmaking Equipment Controls

Feb 12, 2026 - 11:12

Updated: 4 months ago

Lawmakers Urge Trump Admin to Exercise Leverage Over China With Chipmaking Equipment Controls

A bipartisan group of lawmakers wants to work with the Trump administration to limit China’s access to equipment that could enable it to achieve self-sufficiency in advanced chipmaking.

The chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) led the group in writing to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Feb. 9.

They urged the officials to “urgently work to close the remaining critical gaps in our control regime through vigorous engagement with our allies.”

The lawmakers say this manufacturing equipment—which is highly specialized and largely sourced from a few key companies worldwide—represents “one of America’s most significant points of leverage” in competing with China.

“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 [People’s Liberation Army] weapons systems and intelligence platforms,” the letter reads. “Maintaining restrictions on this equipment is critical to U.S. national security.”

Trump, in his first administration, began the practice of restricting China’s access to semiconductor manufacturing equipment through engagement with allies, for example, convincing the Netherlands to restrict sales of ASML’s most advanced extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography tools to China. The Biden administration followed this lead, expanding export controls and gaining cooperative export controls from allies.

The lawmakers say “critical gaps” remain because the system targets specific entities instead of China more broadly.

These case-by-case approvals require on-site visits and investigations, but the lawmakers point out that the Chinese regime restricts U.S. officials from conducting meaningful investigations.

“Verification visits require advance permission from PRC authorities, can take weeks or months to arrange, and are conducted under escort by PRC security personnel,” the lawmakers wrote, using the abbreviation for the People’s Republic of China, the name of the country under the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) rule.

The lawmakers raised concerns about China’s rapid increase in chipmaking equipment purchases, including a doubling of purchases from the Netherlands, and reports that Chinese enterprises are upgrading previous-generation equipment they can buy.

Another gap is that China is still allowed to buy components it can use to build its own chipmaking equipment, a goal Chinese tech companies have publicly cited.

“Left unchecked, China could render U.S. and allied export controls irrelevant by replacing foreign chipmaking tools entirely,” the letter reads.

The lawmakers urged cooperation with allies, noting that many have already expressed a shared interest. They recommended setting clear deadlines and exploring other restrictions, such as on servicing the advanced equipment sold to China, which requires regular maintenance.

Longstanding Issue

Lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle have raised concerns in recent years about China’s continued access to chipmaking equipment.

The House Select Committee on the CCP has also, on multiple occasions, called attention to key gaps in the export control system such as allowing China access to equipment the rules were intended to prohibit. Last year, the committee issued a report finding that China legally purchased more than $38 billion worth of chipmaking equipment in 2024.

Mast has been vocal about artificial intelligence (AI) competition between the United States and China as well. He recently introduced legislation that would subject foreign sales of advanced AI chips to congressional review, putting him at odds with David Sacks, chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

Other signatories to the letter were Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), chair of the South and Central Asia Subcommittee; Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.), ranking member of the South and Central Asia Subcommittee; Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; and Reps. Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.), Michael Baumgartner (R-Wash.), and Johnny Olszewski (D-Md.).