Asia Tech Wire (Sep 12) -- The U.S. is negotiating with allies, including South Korea, to limit exports of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) to China, according to several South Korean media reports.

Alan Estevez, Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security at the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), made it clear at the Korea-U.S. economic security conference in Washington on Tuesday that South Korean companies should supply the U.S. and its allies with high-bandwidth memories (HBMs) for artificial intelligence, not China.

The reports indicate that the U.S. is discussing with its allies, including South Korea, about imposing restrictions on HBM exports to China, which would affect SK hynix and Samsung Electronics, which produce such chips.

Estevez said authorities were seeking to restrict the import of cars into the U.S. that use components and software from countries that pose a security threat, including China and Russia.

He said he had held discussions with South Korean companies and that the U.S. would give them time to make adjustments if they needed to establish a supply chain for regulated technologies.