Applied Materials to pay $252 million in BIS settlement over illegal China semiconductor equipment exports

WASHINGTON, February 12, 2026 — The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security said Applied Materials Inc. and Applied Materials Korea Ltd. will pay about $252 million to settle allegations they illegally exported U.S. semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China, marking the second-highest penalty ever imposed by BIS.

BIS said the case involved exports of ion implanters, a type of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, to a company that had been added to the Entity List in 2020. According to the agency, Applied Materials in 2021 and 2022 shipped the equipment first to its South Korean unit for assembly and then onward to China without obtaining the required export license. The merchandise shipped illegally was valued at about $126 million.

The agency said the $252 million penalty, equal to twice the transaction value, is the statutory maximum. As part of the settlement, Applied Materials also agreed to carry out multiple audits of its export compliance program and make annual certifications to BIS tied to those audits. BIS said the compliance staff and senior global trade and production executives responsible for the shipments are no longer employed by the company and its Korean unit.

The case underscores continued U.S. enforcement pressure on semiconductor-related exports to China, particularly where shipments involve listed end users and routing through third countries. BIS said the matter was investigated by its Office of Export Enforcement in Boston together with Homeland Security .