The Trump administration has effectively cut off some American companies from selling software used to design semiconductors to China, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
Impacted companies include Cadence, Synopsys and Siemens EDA, according to the FT’s reporting, which cited people familiar with the matter. CNN was not immediately able to confirm that. The three companies didn’t return requests for comment. The New York Times subsequently reported on Wednesday that sales to China of jet engine technology and certain chemicals were also halted.
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. However, they didn’t respond to CNN’s inquiry regarding which companies that included.
The move could be the latest blow in an ongoing trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. While that trade war is ostensibly on pause while the US and China continue to negotiate a trade deal, the Commerce Department’s actions underscore the acrimony between the two nations and the challenges in keeping the peace.
The pause came after Chinese government officials and Trump administration officials met in Geneva earlier this month. The US lowered tariffs on products from China to a minimum of 30% from 145%. Meanwhile, China lowered tariffs on American goods to a minimum of 10% from 125%.
The truce is set to expire in August and is intended to give both countries more time to negotiate a potentially longer-term trade deal. However, either country could raise tariff rates again and throw the relationship back into turmoil.
Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in the US, declined to comment on the Commerce Department’s latest actions. However, he said in a statement provided to 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.
This story has been updated with additional context and developments.
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