The U.S. has lifted restrictions on the export of specialized chip design software to China, reports Baltimore Chronicle with reference to Forbes.
The announcement by the U.S. Department of Commerce concerns three leading companies in the EDA (Electronic Design Automation) software market: Siemens AG (via its Oregon-based subsidiary Siemens EDA), Synopsys, and Cadence Design Systems — all of which received the corresponding notices. The restrictions, which had required mandatory licensing for sales to China since late May, have now been lifted.
In official statements, Siemens confirmed the full restoration of access to software and technical support for its Chinese clients. Similar confirmations were provided by Synopsys and Cadence.
The policy shift is attributed to a trade truce agreement between the United States and China, concluded at the end of June. As part of this deal, in addition to lifting export restrictions on EDA software, the two countries agreed to resume trade in advanced technologies and rare earth elements.
It should be recalled that since May 23, the U.S. government had required companies to obtain licenses before exporting chip design software to China — following the imposition of strict controls on AI chip exports from Nvidia and AMD.
According to analytical agency TrendForce, in 2024 the EDA software market share was distributed as follows: Synopsys — 31%, Cadence — 30%, and Siemens EDA — 13%.
Earlier we wrote that Ukraine begins talks with China to restructure $1.5 billion loan.