Gone in 40 days: US drops ban on export of chip design tools to China
- Reference: 1751547609
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/07/03/us_eda_export_ban_lifted/
- Source link:
EDAs are critical semiconductor chip design, test, and validation tools and the Trump Administration [1]introduced the licensing requirement in May.
Doing so was consistent with US policy to deny China access to the most advanced semiconductor technology, on grounds that China uses it for military purposes and to advance its economic development in ways that make it a more formidable competitor in all fields.
[2]
On Wednesday, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the US Department of Commerce ended the licensing requirement.
[3]
[4]
Statements from EDA vendors [5]Synopsys and [6]Siemens EDA both state that the BIS sent them a letter that says export controls on their wares have ended. Another key EDA vendor, Cadence Design Systems, [7]reportedly also received a similar letter.
Siemens said BIS advised it of the ban on May 23rd, and its statement dated July 3rd says the regulator "recently" advised it of the new rule. The licensing requirement therefore lasted fewer than six weeks.
[8]
There's no word on why BIS lifted the licensing requirement, although the slightly more congenial tone of recent trade talks between the US and China are an obvious reason for Washington to ease export restrictions.
Whatever the reason for the change, investors appear to have appreciated it as the share price for Cadence and Synopsys rose a few points on Wednesday.
[9]Chip design is a RISC-y business: Codasip puts itself up for sale
[10]Chip designers latest casualties in US-China trade war
[11]Intel tweaks its 18A process with variants tailored to mass-market chips, big AI brains
[12]Nvidia software exec Kari Briski on NIM, CUDA, and dogfooding AI
Also on Wednesday, BIS announced it reached a settlement with California-based company Alpha and Omega Semiconductor (AOS), which makes power management chips used in many electronics – and in 2019 allegedly sold 1,650 of them to Huawei in defiance of US bans.
A BIS [13]Order [PDF] requires AOS to pay a civil penalty of $4.25 million, an outcome the company [14]said "brings to an end the US government's five-year-plus investigation, which resulted in no criminal charges."
The company declared itself "pleased to bring this matter to a close with only limited administrative export control charges." ®
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[1] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/30/eda_us_china/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aGapFA0lbGAFup71x2BX1gAAAMQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aGapFA0lbGAFup71x2BX1gAAAMQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aGapFA0lbGAFup71x2BX1gAAAMQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://news.synopsys.com/2025-07-02-Synopsys-Issues-Statement-in-Connection-to-the-Lifting-of-Recent-U-S-Export-Restrictions-Related-to-China
[6] https://newsroom.sw.siemens.com/en-US/siemens-eda-china-update/
[7] https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/03/us-lifts-chip-software-curbs-on-china-amid-trade-truce-synopsys-says-.html
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aGapFA0lbGAFup71x2BX1gAAAMQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/01/codasip_sale/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/30/eda_us_china/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/30/intel_foundry_update/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/26/nvdiai_kari_briski_interview/
[13] https://www.bis.gov/media/documents/e2995-alpha-omega
[14] https://investor.aosmd.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2025/Alpha--Omega-Semiconductor-Announced-Resolution-with-the-Department-of-Commerces-Bureau-of-Industry-and-Security/default.aspx
[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: TACO
I grudgingly admit it works better than SAUTE:
Starmer
Always
U
Turns
Eventually
"US drops ban"
After yesterday's confusing title (since changed) I wondered if they were imposing a new ban....
Articles matter. If the previous headline had been "drops a ban on ...." that might well have been read as "imposes". In this case it's "drops the ban on ...".
TACO indeed
The current administration is showing us the power of foresight and preparation in government.[1]
Chinese leadership seems to have prepared for US sanctions from the start of their economic liberalization policies. Which allowed them to [1]call the USA's bluff when the Beautiful Tariffs and Export Control axe fell . And this was only the second time the [2]USA bumped into the same stone .
So thoroughly superior is China's position in this power struggle that TACO had to chicken out in only 40 days. Any half thinking administration would have prepared their [3]counter strategy somewhat better before starting their [4]Charge of the Light Brigade . Or is it [5]Custer's Last Stand ?
Time will show whether it was really the last stand, or just one of many last stands to come.
[1] of the Chinese government, not the American.
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/04/china_hits_back_at_trump/
[2] https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/01/business/global/01minerals.html
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/03/quad_critical_minerals_initiative/?td=keepreading
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charge_of_the_Light_Brigade
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Little_Bighorn
TACO
TACO - it's always "The Art of the Deal" that wins bigly.
Coveffe of this latest, errr, "course correction" to be found in the usual places I guess, or, more likely, not.