Biden administration to expand US regulations from AI GPUs to the DRAM industry in China

The US government is reportedly gearing up to expand its restrictions on China, moving from the AI GPU industry into the DRAM industry in the country. This could have a devastating effect on local manufacturers who are involved in the production of DRAM.

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Business Korea is reporting that the Biden administration is ramping up its restrictions on Chinese technology manufacturers, with the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), managed by the US Department of Commerce, planning to survey around 100 different companies in multiple industries to assess their dependency on Chinese suppliers.

Depending on how this survey goes, the US will reshape its trade policy moving into the future, where it's expected to see US sanctions and its net on CHina getting bigger and bigger, which will eventually move into the defense-focused industries as well. AI GPUs were the beginning it seems, DRAM is another important part, and the dominoes keep falling.

• Read more: US gov checks NVIDIA's new AI GPUs for China, says they're a 'good partner'
• Read more: NVIDIA warned: redesign AI GPU for China, US gov will stop them the next day
• Read more: US gov restricts NVIDIA H800, A800 AI GPUs to China, more 'vigorous' sanctions

In China, there are DRAM manufacturers like Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC), Changxin Memory Technologies (CMT), and SMIC that will be affected. We've already seen Apple canceling its memory chip acquisition from YMTC because of US sanctions, which affected both companies alike. YMTC took huge financial losses because of the Biden administration, and I'm sure many other companies are making sure they're not put in that position.

How? Well, Chinese manufacturers will simply stop doing business with US companies if the Biden administration is shifting into favoring "national security" by having its DRAM, AI GPUs, and defense technology made in other countries other than China. Personally, I don't know how this wasn't done decades ago -- or allowed to have any important technology with trade secrets, IP, and more -- to be made in China. We're seeing it now.

• Read more: Baidu turns from NVIDIA AI GPUs, orders Huawei's AI chips after US sanctions
• Read more: ZTE's first 'flagship GPU server' for China has NVIDIA H800 AI GPUs
• Read more: AI platform floats in ocean as 'sovereign nation state' with 10,000 x NVIDIA H100 GPUs

Throughout all of this, there will be other winners: South Korean companies like Western Digital, Samsung, SK hynix, and others will see demand for their DRAM (and other products) expand because South Korean companies have the tick of approval to do business in the United States. These companies also have flagship-level facilities in China so that the US government could give them exceptions in trade controls.

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This is something the US government has done before under its "Verified End User" (VEU) regulations. The DRAM industry has been suffering of late, but the influx of orders, because US companies can't use Chinese-manufactured DRAM will only be a huge injection of sales for South Korean DRAM makers.

AI GPUs... DRAM... what next? Taiwan is still the center of this all, and pissing China off doesn't feel like it will end well.