US President Donald Trump has added some new names to the list of Chinese companies associated with the Chinese army. These include SMIC, a chip manufacturer, and CNOOC, a major oil company.
The trade ban is a further step in a series of blockades imposed by the US Government for security reasons to make it more difficult to trade with Chinese parties. SMIC fabricates chips for Qualcomm, Broadcom and Texas Instruments, among others.
It is not yet clear from what date the new restrictions will apply. In addition to SMIC and CNOOC, the Chinese companies China Construction Technology and China International Engineering Consulting are also mentioned by Reuters.
Constructive and open
SMIC indicates that it is still “constructively and openly” engaging with the US Government and that its products are only intended for use by civilians and commercial purposes. It stresses that it has no links whatsoever with the Chinese army.
Impact
According to experts, the trade restrictions only have limited impact, due to their limited scope and the possibility that president-elect Joe Biden will make adjustments to the policy.
Huawei was previously added to a list of companies associated with the Chinese army. US companies wishing to trade with Huawei must now have a licence to do so.