Senate panel to question US semiconductor firms on Russian weapons

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations said on Thursday it will hold a hearing with four companies on the use of American-manufactured semiconductors in Russian weapons deployed in the war in Ukraine.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat who chairs the panel, announced the hearing set for Tuesday will include testimony from executives from Analog Devices, Advanced Micro Devices, Intel and Texas Instruments.

The committee said the companies' "products have consistently appeared in recovered Russian weapons. The hearing will probe the companies’ compliance with export controls intended to block Russia from accessing American technology."

Intel declined to comment. The other three companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The firms are sending vice presidents who oversee trade compliance issues to testify.

Blumenthal in February said at a hearing that U.S. semiconductor manufacturers should do more to keep their chips from illegally making their way into equipment used by the Russian military.

Reports have shown U.S.-origin chips and other technology continues to be found in a wide range of Russian equipment on the battlefield in Ukraine, from drones and radios to missiles and armored vehicles, despite strict U.S export controls imposed in 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Preliminary data shows significant increases since 2021 in exports to countries that Russia may be using to evade controls, according to a Senate memo released in February.

Intel said in February its contracts require customers and distributors to comply with regulations, and that it works to track and mitigate potential distributor issues.

Also in February, AMD said it "welcomes strengthening public/private partnerships to combat illicit product diversion." Texas Instruments said it invests "significant time and resources" to keep its chips "out of the hands of bad actors," while Analog Devices said it has taken "significant and proactive measures to mitigate gray market risks."

(Reporting by David ShepardsonEditing by Bill Berkrot)

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