The U.S. Commerce Department will begin gathering information on Chinese production of legacy semiconductors — chips that aren’t cutting-edge but are still vital to the global economy — as it looks to track how deeply reliant companies in the United States have become on technology from China.
In January, the agency’s Bureau of Industry and Security will survey more than 100 companies in autos, aerospace, defense and other sectors to understand how they procure and use legacy chips, according to a Commerce official.
Some Chinese chipmakers have used low prices to undercut competitors, according to the official, and Washington wants to prevent China from dominating that industry like it did in steel and solar.