The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has suspended the licenses of American companies exporting nuclear power equipment to China, marking the latest escalation in the ongoing U.S.-China trade conflict.
The move specifically targets equipment used to build nuclear power plants. According to Reuters, the suspension will impact major U.S. suppliers such as Westinghouse Electric and Emerson.
Although a temporary trade truce was agreed upon during negotiations in Geneva on May 12, the U.S. Commerce Department announced last month that it was reviewing exports of products deemed “strategically significant” to China.
The latest suspension follows a series of tightening restrictions by Washington. Last month, the U.S. imposed export controls on AI chips bound for China and prohibited companies using American software from utilizing semiconductors produced by Chinese firm Huawei.
Additionally, last week the U.S. banned the issuing of new licenses for Electronic Design Automation (EDA) software to Chinese tech firms. EDA tools are crucial for designing advanced AI processors.
On Thursday, President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke by phone for the first time since the start of the trade war in April, as high-level trade negotiations remained stalled. On Friday, it was announced that talks would resume in London on Monday.
The export halt also comes amid concerns over rare earth mineral supplies. Global automakers recently raised alarms after China slowed the issuance of licenses for exporting key rare earth magnets, critical to the high-tech and automotive industries. However, on Friday, China reportedly issued temporary export licenses to the three largest U.S. automakers to prevent immediate production disruptions.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate is debating a bill that would impose 500% tariffs on Chinese imports in response to Beijing’s continued purchases of Russian energy. The White House has so far resisted endorsing the measure, concerned that such extreme tariffs could destabilize global markets—echoing the turmoil caused by April’s earlier tariff hike, which led to panic among retailers and a sharp reaction in global bond markets.