The Biden administration is working to further tighten restrictions on the export of semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China, according to Bloomberg.. New, tougher restrictions aim to prevent country from developing chip industry.

The government has briefed US companies on its plans, telling them it intends to announce new restrictions as early as next month, sources said..

Regulations could double the amount of equipment whose export requires special licenses. This will create new obstacles for manufacturers of such equipment, in particular for Applied Materials..

The move would further hit an industry already operating under stringent regulations introduced in October regarding export licenses for certain types of equipment and barring US citizens from working in China and other countries that could pose a national security threat.. There are also provisions that restrict the support or sale of technologies for certain types of products..

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The administration plans to coordinate with the governments of the Netherlands and Japan, two other key chip manufacturing countries, according to the latest information.. The U.S. has no plans to change its plans even if those countries accept looser restrictions, according to a source familiar with the administration's plans..

Currently, about 17 types of machines vital for semiconductor manufacturing need licenses, especially for selling them to Chinese customers.. That number should double, sources say, given restrictions imposed by Tokyo and The Hague..

There are three main manufacturers of chip equipment in the USA: Applied Materials, KLA and Lam Research. Together with the Japanese Tokyo Electron and the Dutch ASML Holding NV, they are leaders in the industry. Without access to their best products, it is impossible to build factories capable of producing state-of-the-art chips..

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Restrictions have already cost industries a lot of losses.. American companies were forced to warn investors that losing access to the Chinese market would cost them billions of dollars in revenue.. To level the playing field — and tighten the ring around China's new chip effort — the Biden administration lobbied for Tokyo and The Hague to impose the same restrictions on their companies..

Earlier this week, the Dutch government said it was preparing restrictions on certain kinds of chip-making machines..

The new proposal will curb the export of so-called dip lithography, adding this view to existing restrictions. This equipment is critical to the production of modern microcircuits in the world..

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The new rules are expected to be published before the summer, according to a letter sent by the government's foreign trade minister to lawmakers.. But, unlike the United States, the Dutch government has not discussed restrictions on its citizens and has not specified limits on the end use of the chips..