Chip Export Rules Get Nerdy Licensing Tweak
Published Date: 2/14/2025
Rule
Summary
The Department of Commerce fixed a rule about advanced computer chips that controls how they can be exported. This update corrects a licensing detail and starts on February 11, 2025. Companies dealing with these chips should note the changes and can send feedback by March 14, 2025.
Analyzed Economic Effects
5 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 5 costs, 0 mixed.
Worldwide License Requirement for 3A090.a
If your company exports, reexports, or transfers (in-country) items classified as ECCN 3A090.a, those items are subject to a worldwide Regional Stability (RS) license requirement under Sec. 742.6(a)(6)(iii)(A). For exports to destinations in Country Groups D:1, D:4, and D:5, the license requirements remain in effect with a compliance date of December 2, 2024, and Note 1 items are subject to worldwide license requirements with a compliance date of January 31, 2025.
Presumption for Front‑End Fabricators and OSATs
If you are a front-end fabricator or an OSAT company seeking to export, reexport, or transfer an "applicable advanced logic integrated circuit," your company is presumed to have an item classified as 3A090.a and marketed for datacenters unless you overcome that presumption. You can overcome it only by (a) an attestation from an approved or authorized integrated circuit designer, (b) packaging outside Macau/D:5 with specified transistor-count attestations, or (c) attestation from an approved OSAT listed in supplement no. 7 to part 740.
New Attestation and Authorized Designer Rules with Dates
The rule sets dates and conditions for authorized and approved integrated circuit designers: prior to April 13, 2026, certain IC designers headquartered in Taiwan or Country Group A:1/A:5 that meet conditions are 'authorized'; after April 13, 2026, designers must submit an application to become 'approved' and an authorized IC designer deemed authorized after that date will cease to be authorized 180 days after it submits an application. These rules affect which designers' attestations will overcome the presumption for front-end fabricators/OSATs.
Numeric Thresholds That Determine Licensing
Whether an integrated circuit falls into ECCN 3A090 is tied to numeric thresholds: 'total processing performance' (TPP) thresholds include 4800, 2400, and 1600; 'performance density' thresholds include 5.92, 3.2, and 1.6; transistor-count attestation thresholds are below 30 billion, below 35 billion for exports completed in 2027, and below 40 billion for exports completed in 2029 or thereafter; and high-bandwidth memory is controlled if its 'memory bandwidth density' is greater than 2 gigabytes per second per square millimeter.
Increased License Applications and Reporting Burden
The January 16 interim final rule (which this correction amends) is expected to increase filings: BIS estimates 375 additional multi-purpose license applications annually and 1,704 additional submissions related to License Exceptions AIA and ACM, resulting in an estimated increase of 385 burden hours across affected filers.
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
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