[Alpha Biz= Reporter Kim Sangjin] China's AMEC, a major etching equipment manufacturer often referred to as the "Lam Research of China," has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Defense to overturn sanctions. The U.S. Department of Defense added AMEC to its sanctions list due to alleged connections with the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA).
On the 16th, Chinese media outlet First Financial and Bloomberg reported that AMEC, a semiconductor equipment company, has filed a lawsuit in a U.S. court against the Department of Defense to contest the sanctions. On January 31, the U.S. Department of Defense included AMEC on the Chinese Military Companies (CMC) list under Section 1260H of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2021.
The Department of Defense maintains a CMC list for companies linked to the PLA, and entities on this list are prohibited from engaging in transactions with U.S. companies. AMEC argues that being added to this list has damaged its business and reputation.
According to AMEC's legal documents, the Department of Defense justified including AMEC on the CMC list by citing an award received by AMEC from China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
AMEC is the latest Chinese company attempting to overturn its inclusion on the CMC list. In 2021, Xiaomi sued the Department of Defense after being added to the list, and the U.S. court ruled in Xiaomi's favor, resulting in its removal from the list.
According to the Financial Times on the 12th, the Department of Defense has decided to remove Chinese LiDAR company Hesai from the CMC list. Hesai had requested a summary judgment from the U.S. District Court in Washington last month, with a hearing scheduled for September.
AlphaBIZ Kim SangJin(letyou@alphabiz.co.kr)
