After Months of Tension, the U.S. Lifts Restrictions on Exporting Chip and Ethane Software to China

The United States announced the lifting of export restrictions imposed on developers of electronic chip design software and ethane producers heading to China, in a move reflecting the easing of trade tensions between the two countries after recent diplomatic efforts.

The three major companies in the Electronic Design Automation (EDA) software field - Synopsys, Cadence Design Systems, and Siemens - revealed on Wednesday, July 2, that they are resuming the availability of their software and technologies to Chinese customers.

Siemens stated in an official statement: "We have resumed sales and support for customers in China after being informed by the U.S. Department of Commerce of the lifting of restrictions on the export of these technologies."

Synopsys, on the other hand, expected to complete technical updates within three working days to fully restore access for Chinese customers, according to an internal document seen by Reuters.

In a related context, U.S. authorities lifted the mandatory licensing requirement imposed on ethane exports to China since late May and June, according to official documents issued on Wednesday.

These restrictions were part of a series of U.S. measures in response to China's decision to suspend the export of rare earth metals and magnets in April.

However, recent talks between the two countries resulted in an agreement to de-escalate, with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announcing last Friday that both sides had agreed on a framework under which China oversees requests for the export of controlled materials, while the United States lifts its corresponding measures.