US BIS extends advanced computing and semiconductor export controls to Macau

Mechanism

The October 7, 2022 BIS interim final rule imposed sweeping export controls on advanced computing chips (GPUs and other accelerators above defined performance thresholds) and semiconductor manufacturing equipment exported to China. However, the original rule's geographic coverage left a gap: Macau, despite being a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, was not explicitly covered by the China-specific license requirements.

This January 2023 rule closes that gap. BIS found that the risk of diversion — controlled items exported to Macau and then re-exported or transferred to end-users in mainland China — was sufficiently high to warrant treating Macau under the same export-control regime as the PRC mainland. Key provisions extended to Macau include:

• Advanced computing IC controls: License requirements for high-performance chips

(above the computational performance thresholds set in the October 7 rule for AI and supercomputing applications).

• Semiconductor manufacturing equipment (SME) controls: License requirements for

equipment used in advanced fabs (≤14/16 nm logic, ≤18 nm DRAM, ≤128-layer NAND).

• Supercomputer end-use restrictions: End-use and end-user controls covering

supercomputer facilities in Macau.

• Entity list modifications: Additions and updates to the Entity List affecting

Macau-based entities.

• Foreign Direct Product (FDP) rule: Extension of FDP coverage to Macau, meaning

items produced abroad using US technology or equipment are also subject to these controls when destined for Macau.

The rule is an interim final rule, meaning it took effect immediately (January 17, 2023) without a prior notice-and-comment period, on the grounds that the diversion risk warranted urgency. BIS accepted post-publication comments.

Downstream implications

• Closes a structural loophole in the October 7, 2022 architecture; any entity in Macau

wishing to receive covered chips or equipment now faces the same license presumption of denial applicable to Chinese end-users in restricted categories.

• Strengthens the enforcement perimeter ahead of the multilateral expansions that followed

in 2023 (Netherlands, Japan equipment controls; October 2023 BIS tightening).

• Affects Macau's small but strategically positioned semiconductor and data-centre sectors;

Macau-based distributors or re-export intermediaries for advanced chips are directly impacted.

• Sets precedent for treating SAR status as insufficient to distinguish Macau from mainland

China for export-control purposes — a template later applied to Hong Kong in related contexts.

Open questions

• Whether future rules will formally unify Macau and PRC mainland treatment under a single

EAR country group designation.

• Impact on legitimate academic and research institutions in Macau (University of Macau,

Macau University of Science and Technology) acquiring high-performance compute hardware.