Match Act poised for inclusion in Senate NDAA as US tightens chip export controls

A bipartisan bill designed to close loopholes in US semiconductor export controls is on track to be folded into the Senate’s National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026. The Multilateral Alignment of Technology Controls on Hardware Act, better known as the MATCH Act, would push allied nations to match American restrictions on selling advanced chipmaking tools to adversaries, primarily China. The bill’s expected inclusion in the NDAA manager’s amendment is a significant legislative milestone. Getting stapled to the annual defense spending bill, which Congress has passed for more than 60 consecutive years, is about as close to a guaranteed floor vote as any standalone bill can hope for. What the MATCH Act actually does Introduced in April 2026 by Senators Pete Ricketts (R-NE) and Andy Kim (D-NJ), the MATCH Act (S. 4281) targets a specific and awkward problem in US tech policy. American restrictions on semiconductor manufacturing equipment are reportedly stricter than those imposed by close allies. That asymmetry creates two issues simultaneously: it puts US companies at a competitive disadvantage while still failing to keep advanced tools out of Chinese hands. The bill’s ...