Bipartisan House Leaders Call for Tighter Restrictions on Semiconductor Equipment Sales to China

House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast sent a bipartisan letter on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, to United States US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The lawmakers urged the State and Commerce Departments to impose immediate countrywide restrictions on advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment and subcomponents destined for China CN. The letter specifically calls for limits on the servicing of existing equipment and requests a briefing from the U.S. administration (Donald Trump) within one month regarding efforts to secure allied cooperation for these controls.

The chairmen cited a significant acceleration in Chinese imports of foreign-made equipment essential for advanced chip production as a primary reason for the request. According to the letter, current export controls contain gaps that the lawmakers argue pose a direct threat to national security. This push for tighter restrictions follows reporting from Reuters regarding a high-security Shenzhen lab (China) that has allegedly developed a prototype modeled on the extreme ultraviolet lithography equipment produced by ASML Holding N.V. ASML. The lawmakers noted that such developments, as reported by Reuters, heighten the urgency for a more robust regulatory framework for semiconductor manufacturing equipment and subcomponents.