Florida Politics41%
Mike McCalister: Brian Mast has the tools to close China’s semiconductor backdoor 24%
By Guest Author0%
7/30/2026, 4:07:22 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 14 faulty reasoning types, including Confirmation Bias, Framing Effect, and Hasty Generalization, with Halo Effect as the most egregious example at 21% saturation with 170 hits. Analysis detected 849 faulty-reasoning hits from 811 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 36.1% and a BS Rank of 24% (17,199 of 22,577 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 76.20% of the article peer group.
While the United States has spent years debating export control policy on advanced semiconductors, the existing framework has a noticeable gap that undermines our leadership on advanced technology and national security.
These shortcomings include a loophole around open-source technology like RISC-V that leaves the United States vulnerable to China as the race for AI dominance sprints ahead.
As the House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair, Congressman Brian Mast has significant oversight on these issues and should continue to protect American interests.
Created at the University of California, Berkeley, RISC-V is an open-source chip architecture that allows hardware designers to build semiconductors without paying licensing fees typically associated with proprietary intellectual property.
While this has triggered some innovation, open online access to technology is problematic because countries like China have been using it to work around Western sanctions and reduce their dependence on foreign technology.
This has led to Chinese companies using this openly accessible technology to develop it further behind closed doors.
A 2024 Reuters analysis revealed that dozens of Chinese state institutions — many under U.S. sanctions — pumped at least $50 million into RISC-V-related projects between 2018 and 2023.
Beijing has made no secret of its embrace of RISC-V as a pathway around U.S. semiconductor restrictions, making the architecture the de facto choice and investing heavily to influence RISC-V’s governing body.
Ultimately, this plays into China’s broader military-civil fusion strategy where there is no meaningful distinction between civilian and military uses of advanced technology.
They can take the improvements made by engineers in the rest of the world and use them to advance their own interests and capabilities.
Current policies on export controls, including those administered by the Bureau of Industry and Security, were not designed with open-source ISAs in mind.
Perhaps it’s time they are updated since, according to Mast , “Chinese companies will exploit every backdoor to compromise America’s technology and infrastructure.”
Recent moves on Capitol Hill, such as a package of export control bills advancing out of the HFAC, have drawn significant eyeballs.
Yet, RISC-V has not received the targeted attention it warrants, given the strategic risk.
We are attempting to close one door that is already partially shut while leaving another one wide open.
The absence of clear guidelines creates uncertainty for national security and for U.S.-based companies trying to compete responsibly in the global market.
Throughout his career , Rep.
Mast has made countering Chinese technology transfer and influence a clear priority, issues that connect directly to the security concerns surrounding RISC-V.
His leadership on the recent export control package shows he understands where emerging technology and national security intersect.
In addition to pushing for these policies, Mast convened a full Committee hearing in January on the AI Arms Race, during which he stated that AI chip dominance was a direct national security issue.
Last November, along with his fellow Committee chairs, he urged the Commerce Department to launch an investigation into Chinese-controlled companies operating across critical U.S. sectors, noting that Beijing was using those companies as tools to advance its authoritarian agenda.
Earlier this year, Mast co-authored a bipartisan letter urging the Secretaries of State and Commerce to impose stronger restrictions on semiconductor manufacturing equipment and to coordinate more closely with allies to limit China’s access to advanced chipmaking tools.
Adding RISC-V to his legislative portfolio would be a logical extension of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Rep.
Mast’s tremendous leadership on issues related to China.
He is in a position to move this issue from concern to real policy given the political will to address security concerns with emerging technologies.
The goal is not to close off open-source innovation, but to ensure it is not exploited as a loophole by our adversaries.
A practical next step would be for the government to scrutinize China’s support, use, and access to open-source technology, and what rules around it need updating.
This includes reviewing how RISC-V designs are handled and how U.S. engineers may be inadvertently contributing to China’s efforts to wean off Western technology.
As technology evolves rapidly, our policies must decisively safeguard economic and national security.
Rep.
Mast has made significant contributions and must continue his leadership, given China’s determined pursuit of technological and military dominance.
While he has not yet acted, it is essential that Rep.
Mast lead efforts to ensure the responsible use of RISC-V and uphold the U.S. technological advantage.
Mike McCalister , a retired U.S.
Army Colonel, businessman, and university instructor, is a former United States Senate candidate in Florida and continues to serve as a noted speaker and commentator on a variety of issues in the national security arena.
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