New Tension in the US-China Trade War: Trump Gave the Definitive Order!

President of America Donald Trump took a new step to limit China's advanced chip manufacturing capacity. The Trump administration instructed American companies that develop software used for semiconductor design to stop selling these services to Chinese groups.

According to sources with knowledge of the matter, the U.S. Department of Commerce has informed companies such as Cadence, Synopsys and Siemens EDA, which produce Electronic Design Automation (EDA) software, to end their sales to China. This decision was communicated in official letters sent by the Bureau of Industry and Security in charge of Export Control within the Ministry. However, it is not yet clear whether all EDA companies have received such a letter.

This move is seen as the Trump administration's latest effort to hinder China's ability to produce artificial intelligence chips. In April, the U.S. also restricted the export of artificial intelligence chips that Nvidia had developed specifically for China.

Officials from the Ministry of Trade stated that exports of strategic importance for China are being reviewed. One official said, "In some cases, we have suspended existing export licenses or imposed new licensing requirements."

Although EDA software constitutes a small part of the total semiconductor industry, it plays a key role in the design and testing of next-generation chips. Approximately 80% of the Chinese EDA market is under the control of Synopsys, Cadence Design Systems, and Siemens EDA.

In fact, the first restriction in this area was imposed during the Biden administration in 2022. At that time, the sale of the most advanced chip design software to China was banned, but companies continued to sell products that complied with export controls.