The moves comes as a response to China’s export restrictions on critical minerals.
The US has suspended the sale of some critical tech to China, including those related to jet engines and semiconductors, as well as chemicals and machinery, news outlets reported earlier this week.
The country ordered companies to stop shipping goods to China without a licence and revoked licences already granted to certain suppliers, sources told Reuters. The move comes as a response to China’s recent export restrictions of critical minerals.
The escalating trade war over critical supply chains is expected to have significant implications for companies depending on foreign technology.
The trade suspension also comes after the two countries agreed to pause the tariffs they had imposed on each other for 90 days.
At the height of the back and forth retaliation, the US and China had placed a 125pc tariff on each other.
It was expected that pausing the tariffs would lead to a de-escalation in the trade war brewing between the two global powerhouses. However, it seems that Washington and Beijing are engaged in a match flexing their power over the global supply chain.
In April, China suspended exports of a wide variety critical minerals worldwide, and earlier this week, the country’s state media said that it might consider relaxing those restrictions for Chinese and European semiconductor firms.
Reports also indicate that China had recently restarted some shipments of rare earth minerals and magnets to the US. However, sources told the New York Times that despite shipments restarting, the supply remains limited.
While yesterday (29 May), US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said that trade talks between the countries are a “bit stalled” and getting to resolution would likely require direct involvement from US president Donald Trump and the Chinese president Xi Jinping.
Amid rising geopolitical tensions, US secretary of state Marco Rubio announced earlier this week that his department will work with the Department of Homeland Security to “aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields”.
This announcement came after the US halted all new visa interviews for students wanting to study in the country as it considers conducting social media vetting for applicants. The move affects not just prospective students worldwide, but universities in the country that profit from the hefty international student fees.
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