US lawmakers call for broader bans on chipmaking tool sales to China

US lawmakers are calling for broader bans on chipmaking equipment to China after a bipartisan investigation found that Chinese chipmakers had purchased $38 billion of sophisticated gear last year.

Inconsistencies in rules issued by the United States, Japan and the Netherlands have led to non-US chip equipment manufacturers selling to some Chinese firms that US companies could not, according to a report published on Tuesday by the US House of Representatives Select Committee on China.