Trump bloquea adquisición de activos de chips estadounidenses por parte de HieFo respaldado por China

La administración Trump acaba de poner un muro regulatorio frente a la expansión tecnológica china.

El veto ejecutivo

En un movimiento que refleja la escalada de tensiones tecnológicas, el gobierno estadounidense ha bloqueado formalmente el intento de la firma china HieFo de adquirir activos críticos del sector de semiconductores. La decisión, firmada por el presidente, cita preocupaciones de seguridad nacional y la protección de la ventaja competitiva de EE.UU. en una industria considerada estratégica.

El mensaje geopolítico

Esta acción no es un hecho aislado. Es el último capítulo en una guerra fría tecnológica donde los chips son el nuevo campo de batalla. Al impedir que capital y conocimiento chino accedan a eslabones clave de la cadena de suministro, Washington dibuja una línea en la arena. El mensaje es claro: ciertas tecnologías son demasiado sensibles para las transacciones de mercado, especialmente cuando hay fondos estatales involucrados.

Impacto en el ecosistema

El bloqueo deja a HieFo sin su objetivo estratégico y obliga a reevaluar su hoja de ruta. Para las empresas estadounidenses de chips, es un alivio regulatorio mezclado con incertidumbre: se protege la propiedad intelectual, pero también se cierra una fuente potencial de capital de inversión. Los mercados reaccionan con nerviosismo ante cualquier señal que pueda interrumpir el ya tenso flujo global de tecnología.

Mirando hacia adelante

Esperen más de esto. La carrera por la supremacía en semiconductores solo se intensifica, y las herramientas políticas—vetos, listas de entidades, restricciones a la exportación—serán desplegadas con mayor frecuencia. Cada movimiento calcula el equilibrio entre la seguridad económica y los principios de mercado abierto. Al final, los inversores podrían preguntarse si están financiando innovación o simplemente comprando fichas para un juego geopolítico mucho más grande—y más caro.

Cfius orders complete reversal of transaction

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. reviewed the purchase. The committee, called Cfius, examines foreign investments for security risks. Now HieFo has to sell everything it got from Emcore and undo the whole transaction.

Trump’s China policy on technology has mixed signals. He’s relaxed some trade restrictions during negotiations with Chinese leaders. He’s also allowed China to buy certain AI chips from Nvidia and other US companies. But the administration still blocks some exports and investments for security reasons.

Trump let Nvidia sell its advanced H200 AI chips to “approved customers” in China, but with a catch. Nvidia has to pay the government 15% of what it earns from those sales. Senator Elizabeth Warren and other Democrats called this dangerous for national security. As reported by Cryptopolitan previously, China ended up rejecting the H200 chips anyway. Instead, China chose semiconductors made at home.

Beijing mandates domestic equipment for chip production

China is pushing hard to build its own chip industry. Three people with knowledge of the policy told Reuters that China now requires chipmakers to source at least 50% of their equipment domestically when adding new production capacity. The rule isn’t published anywhere, but government officials have been informing companies about it in recent months when they apply to build or expand factories. Companies must prove through their purchasing bids that Chinese-made equipment will account for half or more of their orders.

This marks one of Beijing’s strongest moves yet to cut dependence on foreign technology. The push accelerated after the US tightened export controls in 2023, banning sales of advanced AI chips and semiconductor equipment to China. Those American restrictions only stopped the most sophisticated tools from being sold. But China’s 50% requirement means manufacturers pick Chinese suppliers even when they can still legally buy equipment from the US, Japan, South Korea, and Europe.

The US Trade Representative’s office released findings last month from a nearly year-long investigation into China’s semiconductor sector. Biden launched the inquiry in his final weeks as president, leaving Trump to decide what to do. Trump has since made a trade deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping that calmed global markets.

The government isn’t imposing new tariffs on chip imports right away. The tariff rate stays at zero for 18 months. On June 23, 2027, it will increase to a rate the government will announce at least 30 days beforehand.

A Federal Register notice said China’s effort to dominate semiconductors “is unreasonable and burdens or restricts U.S. commerce and thus is actionable.”

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