U.S. May Cancel Tech Export Waivers for Major Chipmakers Operating in China

On June 20, 2025, semiconductor stocks fell following a report from The Wall Street Journal indicating that the U.S. government is considering revoking waivers that currently allow companies like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Samsung Electronics, and SK Hynix to use American chipmaking technology in their Chinese facilities. Commerce Department official Jeffrey Kessler reportedly informed these companies earlier this week of the potential policy shift.

The possible cancellation of these waivers represents another escalation in the ongoing technological and trade tensions between the U.S. and China. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF dropped about 1%, while individual stocks such as Nvidia and Qualcomm fell by a similar margin. Marvell Technology and TSMC experienced sharper declines of around 2%.

This move follows a period of unstable trade negotiations between the U.S. and China. While the two nations recently agreed on the framework for a second trade agreement, relations remain tense, particularly around advanced technology exports. U.S. chipmakers have faced a series of export restrictions in recent years due to national security concerns, particularly regarding sales of artificial intelligence chips.

Nvidia previously disclosed that restrictions on its H20 chip shipments to China negatively impacted its sales by approximately $8 billion. CEO Jensen Huang characterized the loss of access to China’s AI chip market as a major setback for the U.S. tech industry.