Recent U.S. trade agreements negotiated by the Trump administration (although not yet in force in many countries), contain language requiring partners to align their export controls with the U.S., but questions remain regarding implementation. New bipartisan proposals in Congress would significantly widen the legal reach of U.S.

China and South Korea have pledged to deepen cooperation in semiconductors, batteries and other advanced industries while working more closely to stabilize critical supply chains, after a series of ministerial‑level meetings in Beijing last week.

The Trump administration has authorized Nvidia to sell its H200 AI chips to China, with a new mechanism designed to allow the government to capture a portion of the profit from the sales. However, the path forward for these exports remains precarious, facing regulatory challenges in both Beijing and Washington.

Last week, the U.S. Commerce Department announced a deal with Taiwan related to trade and investment, giving Taiwan partial relief from the U.S. "reciprocal" and other tariffs in exchange for Taiwanese investment commitments in the U.S. semiconductor industry.

In parallel moves this week, the Trump administration established rules for the authorization of the export sale of certain advanced chips to China, and also set a tariff that serves as an indirect way to collect revenue on those sales.

The Trump administration ordered the divestment of an asset purchase involving a semiconductor company, on the basis that one of the founders of the purchasing company is a Chinese citizen. At this time, there are few public details on the specific security concerns the administration has about the deal.

In late December, the U.S. Trade Representative's Office (USTR) quietly announced, without even issuing a press release, that it had determined that China's policies and practices in the semiconductor sector were unreasonable, and also burdened or restricted U.S. commerce, and that tariffs would be