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The G7 is about to meet, and one of the topics it will address will be how to disarm the Russian war machine
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This is the context in which the US is about to increase its pressure on Russia with new bans
The sanctions against China orchestrated by the US and its allies dominate the front pages of the media day after day, but we must not overlook that in the field of semiconductors Russia is essentially subject to the same prohibitions. ASML and other manufacturers of cutting-edge lithography equipment, such as Tokyo Electron and Canon, cannot sell their most advanced machines in Russia.
The same goes for cutting-edge chips. NVIDIA, AMD, Intel and other processor and GPU designers cannot export their most sophisticated integrated circuits to Russia. Since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine and sanctions began to tighten, the country led by Vladimir Putin has had the support of China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, among other allies, to evade them and obtain the cutting-edge chips it needs. Or, at least, a part of them. The US wants to definitively put an end to these practices.
The Biden Administration’s response is on the verge of candy
John Kirby, who serves as White House National Security Communications Advisor, declared just a few hours ago that Washington will announce new prohibitions and measures to control exports to Russia. A declaration like this would not see the light of day if the relevant measures were not already planned and about to be consolidated. We still do not know precisely what the new sanctions will consist of, but Reuters has anticipated that above all they will seek to end the parallel routes for importing semiconductors that Russia is using.
The Netherlands, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan play a fundamental role in hindering the arrival of cutting-edge semiconductors to Russia
However, the US Government is not going to limit itself to controlling the movements of cutting-edge integrated circuits manufactured within its borders; presumably it will also monitor traffic the advanced chips produced by its allies. After all, it is already doing it with China. In this area, the Netherlands, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan play a fundamental role in making it difficult for cutting-edge semiconductors manufactured by their companies to reach Russia.
The US has carefully chosen the moment in which it will take this step. The G7 leaders are about to meet in southern Italy to address, among other hot topics, what the next steps they will take regarding the war between Russia and Ukraine. For the G7, it is essential to disarm the war machine of the country governed by Vladimir Putin, and one way to weaken it is to prevent it from obtaining the advanced chips it needs for its latest generation weapons.
The trade that Russia and China have had for months represents a threat to the US and its allies. In all likelihood, the upcoming US sanctions will attempt to compromise the business of several Chinese companies that operate from Hong Kong and that they are sending integrated circuits and other essential goods to Russia to maintain their war campaign in Ukraine.
More information | Reuters
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