Trump Freezes Tech Export Curbs to Smooth China Trade Talks

The United States has frozen new export controls on sensitive technologies bound for China, the Financial Times reported, citing current and former officials. The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security has been instructed for several months to avoid imposing additional curbs while trade negotiations proceed. Officials said the pause aims to keep talks on track as U.S. and Chinese economic teams convene in Stockholm on Monday for a third round of discussions. President Donald Trump is also seeking to arrange a meeting with President Xi Jinping later this year to frame a broader trade agreement between the world’s two largest economies. The suspension would allow companies such as Nvidia to resume shipments of its H20 artificial-intelligence chips, exports of which were blocked in April over national-security concerns. The prospective licenses form part of broader negotiations that include access to Chinese rare-earth minerals and magnets. The policy shift has drawn push-back from a group of 20 security specialists, including former deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger. In a letter expected to reach Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Monday, the signatories argue that easing controls "represents a strategic misstep that endangers the United States’ economic and military edge in artificial intelligence." The White House and Commerce Department have not commented on the report, and Reuters said it could not independently confirm the FT account.