The United States is set to announce new curbs on the export of chipmaking technology to China as early as Friday.

According to Reuters on Thursday, the U.S. Department of Commerce is expected to enact measures that effectively ban U.S. suppliers from exporting equipment to China's advanced DRAM or flash memory chipmakers.

Under the new curbs, U.S. suppliers would have to apply for a license when trying to export equipment to Chinese firms producing DRAM chips at 18 nanometers or below, NAND flash chips at or above 128 layers or logic chips at or under 14 nanometers.

The new report said that license requests to sell equipment to foreign chipmakers based in China will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, quoting an unnamed source saying that the goal is not to hurt non-indigenous firms.

The license review, however, would be conducted with the tough "presumption of denial" standard, and the restrictions aimed at impeding Beijing's technological expansion are expected to impact South Korean chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to some degree.

According to a diplomatic source in Seoul, Washington had notified the government in advance and the two sides have held consultations since, with plans to continue talks to ensure that the curbs do not adversely affect local chipmakers.