[News] Trump Administration Reportedly Eyes Stricter Chip Export Curbs on China, With TEL and ASML in Focus

According to MoneyDJ, citing Bloomberg, the Trump administration is reportedly weighing tighter semiconductor export restrictions in an effort to further suppress China’s chip industry.

As noted in the report, sources indicate that Trump administration officials have recently held discussions with Japanese and Dutch officials about potentially restricting engineers from Tokyo Electron and ASML from offering maintenance services for semiconductor equipment in China.

If companies like ASML stop providing regular maintenance services, the equipment would quickly fall short of the strict standards required for semiconductor production, as the report notes.

The report indicates that the Trump administration is reportedly seeking support from TEL and ASML to impose technology restrictions on China, similar to those already enforced by U.S. firms like Lam Research, KLA, and Applied Materials.

Potential Further Restrictions on the Export of NVIDIA Chips to China

Meanwhile, the report reveals that the Trump administration is exploring stricter export restrictions on AI chips to China, which could potentially extend the ban to include NVIDIA’s H20 chip, a model specifically designed for the Chinese market, as indicated by Reuters.

Another Reuters report notes that NVIDIA’s H20 AI chips, developed for China, have seen a significant surge in orders, possibly driven by the widespread adoption of DeepSeek.

Furthermore, according to the Bloomberg report, citing sources, the Trump administration is also weighing a ban on Chinese memory chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies from acquiring American technology.

Biden’s AI Export Control Rule

Previously, in an effort to prevent advanced technology from falling into the hands of countries such as China and Russia, President Biden has ordered a three-tier control system on AI chip exports, categorizing recipient countries into three levels, as the report from MoneyDJ notes. Taiwan, South Korea, and 16 other highly trusted allies fall into the first tier, where they can largely access U.S. AI technology without restrictions. Meanwhile, Russia, China, and other adversarial nations are placed in the third tier, making them ineligible to obtain advanced U.S. AI processors.

Read more

• [News] Semiconductor Equipment Market Sees Robust Growth Fueled by AI Despite Declining China Demand
• [News] NVIDIA to Launch China-Specific RTX 5090 D with 29% AI Performance Cut to Meet U.S. Export Rules

(Photo credit: ASML)