The United States has decided to extend a one-year waiver that allows chipmakers from South Korea and Taiwan(China) to continue bringing
advanced semiconductor technology and related equipment to the Chinese mainland. The move is seen as potentially undermining US
efforts to curb China’s advances in the technology sector, but it is also expected to avert widespread disruptions to the global semiconductor
supply chain.

Alan Estevez, the Commerce Department’s undersecretary for industry and safety, spoke at an industry event in June about the possibility of
an extension, the length of which has yet to be determined. But the government has put forward a proposal for an indefinite exemption.
“The Biden administration intends to extend the waivers to allow semiconductor manufacturers from South Korea and Taiwan(China) to maintain
operations in China.” Alan Estevez, the Commerce Department’s undersecretary for industry and security, told an industry conference last week
that the Biden administration intended to extend an exemption from an export control policy that restricts the sale of advanced process chips
and chip-making equipment to China by the United States and foreign companies that use American technology. Some analysts believe the
move will weaken the effect of the US export control policy on chips to China.

The United States plans to extend the current waiver, which expires in October this year, on the same terms. This will enable South Korean and
Taiwan(China) companies to bring American chip-making equipment and other critical supplies to their factories in mainland China, allowing
production to continue without interruption.