The U.S. in recent days suspended licenses for nuclear equipment suppliers to sell to China's power plants, according to four people familiar with the matter, as the two countries engage in a damaging trade war.
The suspensions were sent to companies by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the people said, and affect export licenses for parts and equipment used with nuclear power plants.
Nuclear equipment suppliers are among a wide range of companies whose sales have been restricted over the past two weeks as the U.S.-China trade war shifted from negotiating tariffs to throttling each other's supply chains. It is unclear whether a Thursday call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would affect the suspensions.
The U.S. and China agreed on May 12 to roll back triple digit, tit-for-tat tariffs for 90 days, but the truce between the two biggest economies quickly went south, with the U.S. claiming China reneged on terms related to rare earth elements, and China accusing the U.S. of "abusing export control measures" by warning that using Huawei Ascend AI chips anywhere in the world violated U.S. export controls. On Friday, Trump said U.S. and Chinese officials would meet again on June 9.
The U.S. Department of Commerce did not respond to a request for comment on the nuclear equipment restrictions. On May 28, a spokesperson said the department was reviewing exports of strategic significance to China.
"In some cases, Commerce has suspended existing export licenses or imposed additional license requirements while the review is pending," the spokesperson said in a statement.
U.S. nuclear equipment suppliers include Westinghouse and Emerson.
Westinghouse, whose technology is used in over 400 nuclear reactors around the world, and Emerson, which provides measurement and other tools for the nuclear industry, did not respond to requests for comment.
The suspensions were sent to companies by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the people said, and affect export licenses for parts and equipment used with nuclear power plants.
Nuclear equipment suppliers are among a wide range of companies whose sales have been restricted over the past two weeks as the U.S.-China trade war shifted from negotiating tariffs to throttling each other's supply chains. It is unclear whether a Thursday call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would affect the suspensions.
The U.S. and China agreed on May 12 to roll back triple digit, tit-for-tat tariffs for 90 days, but the truce between the two biggest economies quickly went south, with the U.S. claiming China reneged on terms related to rare earth elements, and China accusing the U.S. of "abusing export control measures" by warning that using Huawei Ascend AI chips anywhere in the world violated U.S. export controls. On Friday, Trump said U.S. and Chinese officials would meet again on June 9.
The U.S. Department of Commerce did not respond to a request for comment on the nuclear equipment restrictions. On May 28, a spokesperson said the department was reviewing exports of strategic significance to China.
"In some cases, Commerce has suspended existing export licenses or imposed additional license requirements while the review is pending," the spokesperson said in a statement.
U.S. nuclear equipment suppliers include Westinghouse and Emerson.
Westinghouse, whose technology is used in over 400 nuclear reactors around the world, and Emerson, which provides measurement and other tools for the nuclear industry, did not respond to requests for comment.
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