US Said to Consider Banning Key Exports to Chinese Chipmaker SMIC US officers are contemplating discussing a Defence Department proposal this month to shut regulatory loopholes which have allowed Chinese chipmaker SMIC to purchase essential US expertise, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. Some Commerce Department officers are attempting to block the Defence Department’s proposal, the Journal added, citing folks accustomed to the matter. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) was added to a US blacklist final yr that denies it entry to superior manufacturing tools from US suppliers due to its alleged ties to China’s army, claims that the...