The US-China trade war has forced the semiconductor industry to take on a new role in the conflict, with the industry now being used as a tool to safeguard critical infrastructure in the telecommunications sector. This shift in the political economy of the semiconductor industry has been driven by a number of factors, including the geographic reorientation of demand and manufactured supply towards Asia and the development of a new business model for the industry. The paper uses this lens to explain how US policymakers have turned to export restrictions targeting the semiconductor supply chain in order to constrain Huawei, a Fortune Global 500 company. The potentially far-reaching tactics used by American software service and equipment providers to weaponize exports have been highlighted, as well as the costs and unintended consequences of such policies. The paper concludes by asking whether policymakers might push these policies further in an attempt to constrain other Chinese firms.
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