Trump Axing 'Biden-Era' Waivers in China Rattles Chipmakers

Source: Bloomberg through Yahoo

"Bloomberg -- President Donald Trump's administration just tore up a quiet compromise that some of the world's biggest chipmakers have relied on to maintain crucial operations in China. That tees up four months of complex policy talks to satisfy US national security concerns while avoiding disruptions to supply chains that underpin the global electronics market.

At issue are so-called validated end user, or VEU, authorizations that have allowed Samsung Electronics Co., SK Hynix Inc. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to get supplies to factories in China without seeking Washington's permission each time. Those waivers -- which a South Korean official once said solved "the biggest trade issue" for the country's chipmakers -- are now set to expire at the end of this year.

That's left government and industry officials to hash out an alternative approach that can make all parties confident the plants can continue to run smoothly. The stakes are particularly high for Samsung and SK Hynix given the scale of their China factories, which churn out components used in everything from smartphones to data centers. The South Korean and Taiwanese governments, meanwhile, find themselves once again navigating tensions between Washington and Beijing as the US continues a years-long campaign to constrain China's tech ambitions.

The trio of companies secured their VEU designations under former President Joe Biden, after his administration imposed sweeping curbs on chip-related shipments to China over concerns that advanced semiconductors could lend Beijing a military edge. The waivers were designed to blunt the impact of the new controls on facilities that Biden officials could proactively designate as safe and secure, alleviating the need for firms to file hundreds of export license applications -- and providing predictability in access to supplies from chemicals to spare parts to manufacturing equipment."

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-axing-biden-era-waivers-104139270.html

Here is the direct Bloomberg link:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-09-04/trump-axing-biden-era-waivers-in-china-rattles-chipmakers







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