Just After U.S.-China Trade Deal, Trump Stirs the Pot — New Chip Export Blacklist Against China

TradingKey - Just days after rolling back semiconductor export restrictions imposed by the Biden administration, the Trump administration is reportedly preparing a new export blacklist targeting Chinese tech companies, casting a shadow over the recently thawed U.S.-China trade relations.

According to multiple sources cited by the Financial Times, the U.S. Department of Commerce has drafted a new entity list of Chinese companies, including SMIC (China’s largest chipmaker), YMTC (Yangtze Memory Technologies, China’s largest memory chip manufacturer), and CXMT (ChangXin Memory Technologies).

The U.S. government has long been concerned that exporting advanced semiconductor technology to China could bolster its technological and military capabilities — potentially allowing it to surpass the United States.

As noted by the Global Times, while the Trump administration claims to be repealing AI chip export rules, it is simultaneously drafting new measures — a move described as “same soup, different pot .”

On May 12, China and the United States reached a 90-day trade ceasefire agreement in Geneva, under which both sides agreed to significantly reduce tariff rates. However, some U.S. officials have expressed concerns that the Trump administration’s renewed tech sanctions could threaten further negotiations between the two economic giants.