Trump administration expands semiconductor restrictions on China

Trump administration seeks to tighten semiconductor restrictions on China, pushing allies for alignment on technological limits.

In Short

The Trump administration aims to enhance semiconductor restrictions on China, following the Biden administration’s efforts. Key allies like Japan and the Netherlands are in discussions to align these limitations on technology exports.

The Trump administration is planning to strengthen semiconductor restrictions on China, building on the efforts of the Biden administration to limit China’s technological capabilities.

Recent discussions took place between U.S. officials and their counterparts in Japan and the Netherlands regarding restricting engineers from Tokyo Electron and ASML from supporting semiconductor equipment in China.

Additionally, some officials from Trump’s administration are seeking to further limit the types and amounts of Nvidia chips that can be exported to China without a license.

Nvidia, along with Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Dutch foreign ministry, did not provide comments on the situation. Similarly, Tokyo Electron, ASML, and the White House did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters.

The objective of the Trump administration is to secure alignment among key allies in enforcing similar restrictions on China, akin to the limitations imposed on American chip equipment companies such as Lam Research, KLA, and Applied Materials.