Chips Act Is All Carrot, No Stick & State Actions To Prohibit Risky Tech

New Reports On Apple Deal With Chinese Military Chip Maker Taints iPhone 14 Release. As Apple prepares to unveil its iPhone 14 smartphone at its “Far Out” event today, BusinessKorea add new scrutiny to earlier reports that Apple is compromising American security by shipping devices with chips from the Chinese military chipmaker YMTC.

The new reporting suggests that the partnership is laying the foundation for further Apple devices to be outfitted with the suspect circuits. “The move represents a strong win for YMTC and will ensure steady supply of flash memory for Apple’s next-generation products,” reports Tom’s Hardware. For more on the threats this Apple deal with YMTC pose to our national security, read CTT’s report, “Silicon Sellout: How Apple’s Partnership with Chinese military Chip Makers YMTC Threatens American National Security.

Momentum Behind State Actions To Ban Risky Chinese Tech. Just two months after his bill that prohibits companies owned or operated by China from bidding on state contracts was signed into law in Georgia, State Representative Martin Momtahan introduced his bill as model policy at the 49th Annual Meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in July. It was unanimously approved by state lawmakers on two separate committees and has since been adopted by the full ALEC Board. Rep. Momtahan spoke with ALEC TV during the conference where he explained the Chinese government is seeking personal information and data for economic and military gain, to embarrass politicians, and why American companies need these types of policies to protect their IP.

Heritage Report On State Use Of Chinese Tech And Why It Must Stop. As state lawmakers were approving model policy at ALEC, Michael Cunningham with the Heritage Foundation released a report: “Why State Legislatures Must Confront Chinese Infiltration.” The report covers a number of Chinese influence and intrusion activities taking place inside the U.S. and lists as a key imperative the need to prevent companies linked to the Chinese government from obtaining contracts to build critical infrastructure or supply technology to state government organizations.

Florida To Address State-Federal Tech Threat Disconnect At Upcoming Conference. The James Madison Institute (JMI) will convene a panel discussion on how state government policies enhance economic and technological security and how to secure networks from Chinese and Russian intrusion at its 2022 Tech and Innovation Summit on September 15. The panel discussion will feature China Tech Threat (CTT) Co-Founder Dr. Rolsyn Layton, Georgia House Representative Martin Momtahan, JMI Vice President of Communications Logan Padgett and Florida House Representative Randy Fine who will discuss the status of Florida legislation to address threats in the sunshine state.

Chips Act Is All Carrot And No Stick.  In a recent blog, CTT highlighted Josh Rogin’s Washington Post column on the Chips Act and how it falls short of what is needed to thwart China’s quest to dominate global high-tech manufacturing. CTT Co-Founder Dr. Roslyn Layton underscored these same points in a recent interview with the UK Telegraph where she said of the bill, “It’s all carrot and no stick.” In her Forbes column, she wrote about the Commerce Department’s failures to promote and protect US technologies from China: “China’s success – and America’s loss – reflects the consequences of U.S. government inaction. . . “U.S. and foreign companies … are advancing CCP economic, military, and political priorities.

Sounding The Siren On Chinese Chipmaker CXMT Before It Is Too Late. Warning not to repeat the hard lessons learned from the Commerce Department dithering on YMTC restrictions while the company achieves technological breakthroughs, CTT wrote in a blog that lesser-known Chinese chipmaker CXMT could be even more dangerous. Founded in 2016, Changxin Memory Technologies (CXMT) was created as a “pilot demonstration” of the Made in China 2025 initiative – the Chinese government’s effort to make China the world leader in high-tech manufacturing. CTT offers hope writing “the federal government has the power to stop CXMT. Right now CXMT still relies on equipment from American semiconductor equipment manufacturers like Applied Materials, Lam Research, and KLA Corporation. . . . the Commerce Department shouldn’t make the same mistake it did with YMTC and dither on restrictions while the company achieves technological breakthroughs. CXMT – and YMTC – need to join SMIC on the Entity List.”

Hudson Institute/China Tech Threat Event: Dragon in the North: Assessing the Growing Chinese Threat to the Arctic Region. On Tuesday, October 11 the Hudson Institute China Center will host a conference, “The Dragon in the North: Assessing the Growing Chinese Threat to the Arctic Region” with a keynote speech by Hudson Distinguished Fellow and 70th Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo. Hudson Senior Fellow Dr. Arthur Herman and China Tech Threat Co-Founder Dr. Roslyn Layton will moderate panels with the world’s leading experts on China’s march toward the Arctic. For more on the threat to the Arctic Region, read Dr. Layton’s Forbes column, “Cold Front: The Arctic Emerges As A New Flashpoint Of Geopolitical Challenge.”