U.S. lifts chip software curbs on China in sign of trade truce

Siemens AG, Synopsys, and Cadence were informed that the export controls had been lifted

Had reportedly told several chip design software companies on May 23 that they were required to obtain licenses

The three firms are considered part of the U. -dominated electronic design automation market

In this MAWFCDNSSNPS your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNTClose-up of an empty ed circuit board, PCB, in Verl, Germany

Ute Grabowsky | Photothek | Getty ImagesThe U

Government has rescinded its export restrictions on chip-design software to China, three of the largest players in the space announced on Thursday

In separate statements, semiconductor software designers Siemens AG, Synopsys, and Cadence all said they received letters from the U

Department of Commerce informing them that the controls had been lifted

While Siemens is based in Germany, its chip design software subsidiary, Siemens EDA, is based in Oregon, U

As a result of export control reversal, Siemens said it had "restored full access" to the recently restricted software and nology and had resumed sales and support to Chinese customers. ​Synopsys and Cadence both said that they were working on doing the same

Commerce Department did not immediately respond to a request for from CNBC

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Had informed the chip design software companies on May 23 that they were required to obtain licenses before exporting software and other nology for semiconductors to China

It ed an earlier tightening of export controls on other semiconductor ducts, which restricted the sales of advanced AI cessors from Nvidia and AMD to China

The three firms are considered part of the U. -dominated electronic design automation (EDA) market, which encompasses software, hardware, and essential services for designing chips and semiconductor devices

Synopsys CEO Sassine Ghazi said in a conference call with analysts in May that the company saw a slowdown in China during its fiscal second quarter, which on April 30

China has also introduced policies to p up its domestic chip-design software makers and develop independent chip design know-how, Synopsys said

The news comes after China signaled last week that they are making gress on a trade truce with the U

And confirmed conditional agreements to resume some exchanges of rare earths and advanced nology.