Washington, Dec 2 : The United States has announced a new semiconductor export control package against China, including curbs on high-end chips for artificial intelligence (AI) that are likely to affect the South Korean industry.

The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) unveiled the package on the Federal Register, including restrictions on exports of high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips.

Two South Korean firms -- Samsung Electronics and SK hynix -- and Micron Technology lead the global HBM market.  The package comes as President Joe Biden is set to leave office on Jan. 20 with President-elect Donald Trump expected to adopt a tough policy stance on China. It is in line with Washington's efforts to limit China's access to key technologies on national security grounds, reports Yonhap news agency.