As of October 11th， according to reports， former U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the United States will impose an additional 100% tariff on Chinese imported goods starting November 1st. This is on top of existing tariffs already in place.
Furthermore， Trump also declared that the U.S. would implement export controls on all critical software on the same date.
The imposition of export controls on critical software is not unprecedented. However， a significant area likely to be heavily impacted is Electronic Design Automation (EDA) software， often referred to as the “mother of chips.”
This escalating U.S. blockade on China’s semiconductor industry has reached a new level. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has reportedly notified the three major global EDA chip design software vendors， instructing them to cease providing services and support for EDA to the entire mainland Chinese region.
Companies such as Cadence， Synopsys， and Siemens are reportedly included in this sales ban. Collectively， these three companies hold a substantial global market share for EDA software， estimated to be around 74%.
This action signifies a comprehensive restriction by the U.S. on China’s semiconductor industry， extending from manufacturing to design. Consequently， the situation for Chinese chip companies is expected to become significantly more challenging in the future.
For example， Xiaomi’s newly unveiled “Xuanjie O1 SoC processor，” while potentially still manufacturable by TSMC according to U.S. regulations due to its manufacturing process， faces considerable uncertainty. Designs based on 3nm or more advanced processes will undoubtedly be cast in a long shadow， raising significant questions about its future development and viability.
