US puts over 30 Chinese tech companies on trade blacklist

ISTANBUL

The US has added more than 30 Chinese companies to a trade blacklist, restricting them from importing components from American manufacturers, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security announced Thursday.

The 36 firms that were added to the Entity List will face "stringent license requirements" that will restrict their access to certain US-produced commodities, software and technologies subject to US export regulations, it said in a statement.

While most of the companies are located in China, one of them -- a subsidiary of a Chinese entity -- is located in Japan, it added.

Two of China's biggest chipmakers, Yangtze Memory Technologies and Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment, are among the firms.

"Today we are building on the actions we took in October to protect U.S. national security by severely restricting the PRC’s (People's Republic of China’s) ability to leverage artificial intelligence, advanced computing, and other powerful, commercially available technologies for military modernization and human rights abuses," said Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Alan Estevez.

He added that the decision is part of efforts "to detect and disrupt Russia’s efforts to obtain necessary items and technologies and other items for its brutal war against Ukraine, including from Iran."

Washington's move comes two months after President Joe Biden’s administration introduced new regulations for American companies to apply for licenses if they want to export semiconductors and computer manufacturing equipment to China.