A federal court in the United States today blocked the entry into force of the reciprocal tariffs imposed on April 2 by US President Donald Trump, announced on the so-called “Liberation Day“, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
The court ruled that the president had exceeded his authority by imposing tariffs on imports from countries that export more goods to the United States than they import.
Previously, the “Financial Times“, quoted by Reuters and BTA, reported that the Trump administration had ordered US companies that offer software used to design semiconductors to stop selling their services to Chinese firms, in its latest attempt to hinder China in developing modern chips.
Several officials familiar with the move said the U.S. Commerce Department has told so-called electronic design automation companies, including Cadence, Synopsys and Siemens EDA, to stop selling their technology to China.
The Office of Industry and Security, the U.S. Commerce Department's export control arm, has sent the directive to the companies in letters, according to people familiar with the matter. It is not clear whether every U.S. electronic design company received the letter.
The move comes as the U.S. government seeks to hinder China's ability to develop advanced artificial intelligence chips as it seeks to gain a technological edge over its geopolitical rival. In April, Washington restricted exports of China-specific artificial intelligence chips from Nvidia.
A U.S. Commerce Department official said it was conducting a “review of exports of strategic importance to China, and in some cases the department has suspended existing export licenses or imposed additional licensing requirements while the review is ongoing.”
The directive comes at a sensitive time as the U.S. and China try to reach a trade deal after the two sides recently agreed in Geneva to suspend reciprocal tariffs for 90 days.