The United States is trying to make it more difficult for China to obtain semiconductors in order to rebuff its artificial intelligence advances.
The Commerce Department told CNN on Wednesday it is “reviewing exports of strategic significance to China.”
“In some cases, Commerce has suspended existing export licenses or imposed additional license requirements while the review is pending,” a spokesperson told CNN.
The companies that were told to halt selling to China include Cadence, Synopsys, and Siemens EDA, the Financial Times reported. It’s unclear if all “electronic design automation groups” received a letter from the department.
Christopher Johnson, a former CIA China analyst, told the Financial Times that the new export controls underscored the “innate fragility of the tariff truce reached in Geneva. With both sides wanting to retain and continue demonstrating the potency of their respective chokehold capabilities, the risk the ceasefire could unravel even within the 90-day pause is omnipresent.”
Trump’s tariffs were largely paused by a federal court, including his steep tariffs on China. The Trump administration had been in the middle of an intense trade war with China until the sides agreed to a temporary 90-day reprieve. The de-escalation relieved U.S. consumers who relied on goods from the country but saw vastly increased prices due to the 145% tariff imposed on China by the U.S.
The ruling did not affect tariffs issued by the Trump administration under different laws, including tariffs on steel, aluminum, and cars.
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Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in the U.S., told CNN that “China firmly opposes the US’s overstretching the concept of national security, abusing export controls, and maliciously blocking and suppressing China.”
“China will keep a close eye on relevant developments, and take resolute measures to firmly defend the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies,” he added.