# White House keeps chip export controls after Xi-Trump summit
*Bilateral summit readouts carve out $30 billion in consumer goods for tariff relief, but U.S. negotiators refuse to trade advanced foundry and AI hardware restrictions for commercial concessions.*
**Published:** September 27, 2026
**By:** Mina Okoro
**Section:** Trade & Industrial Policy — Cross-border
**Format:** Policy Tracker
**Confidence:** high
**Source:** https://eastasiabrief.com/trade-policy/white-house-keeps-chip-export-controls-xi-trump-summit-385
**Publisher:** East Asia Brief (https://eastasiabrief.com/)
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## What to know
- U.S. and China exclude chip export controls from trade deal carving out $30 billion in non-sensitive goods
- Samsung and SK hynix retain tool upgrade bans across China fabs producing 40% of NAND and 45% of DRAM
- USTR releases itemized tariff schedules Sept. 28 ahead of bilateral AI working group talks in November
*Workers in safety vests monitor cranes moving shipping containers beside a large cargo vessel at a busy commercial port. (AI-generated image)*
The White House excluded advanced semiconductor export controls from bilateral trade agreements finalized on Sept. 26, 2026, keeping national security restrictions separate from tariff concessions on consumer goods.
The summit agreement instead established mutual preferential tariff recommendations covering $30 billion of non-sensitive trade flows in each direction, carving out consumer items while leaving critical technology hardware untouched.
Official readouts published simultaneously in Washington and Beijing omitted any easing of restrictions on advanced microchips, chipmaking equipment or licensing rules administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Neither the White House fact sheet nor China's eight-point foreign ministry communique mentioned alterations to the Entity List or the Bureau of Industry and Security regulations that restrict Chinese foundries.
The tariff recommendations operationalize the bilateral Board of Trade established during talks in Beijing in May, creating a dedicated track to insulate low-technology commerce from national security disputes.
American concessions cover small consumer electronics, toys, holiday decorations and infant child-safety seats imported from Chinese manufacturers, according to the agreement terms published by both administrations.
Chinese tariff concessions apply to American agricultural shipments, timber products, cosmetic preparations and medical devices, leaving advanced computing hardware completely outside the scope of bilateral duty reductions.
China also committed to purchasing at least 10 million metric tons of American coal in 2027 and another 10 million tons in 2028, the White House fact sheet said.
National security export controls were excluded entirely from bilateral economic deliberations during the summit week, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a television interview following the talks.
The administration treats statutory technology boundaries as non-negotiable security tools rather than bargaining chips for commercial concessions, Greer said in remarks outlining the negotiation parameters.
Greer characterized the two-month extension of the tariff truce as an assessment window to determine whether Beijing fulfills earlier commodity procurement and critical mineral export commitments.
The leaders agreed to establish a dedicated communication channel for artificial intelligence safety, scheduling working-level talks before November to manage catastrophic accidents involving frontier neural models and superintelligence.
Diplomatic negotiators scheduled the technical AI consultation ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen on Nov. 18, where the two presidents plan their next meeting.
A second bilateral discussion is scheduled for Dec. 14 during the Group of 20 summit in Florida, setting a packed diplomatic calendar for late 2026.
Maintaining the technological barrier leaves multinational semiconductor manufacturers operating fabrication lines across mainland China under stringent American regulatory oversight without any prospect of immediate policy relief.
Samsung Electronics produces roughly 40% of its global NAND flash memory capacity at its fabrication base in Xi'an, relying on temporary American authorizations to service existing production machinery.
SK hynix manufactures about 45% of its DRAM computer memory in Wuxi, running parallel solid-state drive fabrication lines at its Dalian plant acquired from Intel Corporation.
Both South Korean chipmakers operate under Validated End-User status granted by the U.S. government, which allows routine equipment repairs but strictly bans upgrading fabrication tools to leading-edge manufacturing nodes.
The summit silence confirms that foreign chipmakers cannot import extreme ultraviolet lithography systems or advanced etch equipment into Chinese facilities, preserving strict capacity caps across their memory operations.
China's leading contract chipmaker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, remains entirely cut off from advanced American electronic design automation software and precision wafer deposition equipment under existing export rules.
Equipment makers including ASML and Tokyo Electron face continuing restrictions that block shipments of immersion lithography and advanced atomic layer deposition tools to mainland buyers.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative plans to release the itemized tariff-line list and exact preferential duty schedules on Sept. 28, agency officials said in Washington.
The official summit documentation does not state the exact percentage reductions for the $30 billion non-sensitive trade baskets or their precise statutory implementation dates, leaving customs details unconfirmed.
The published notices also do not settle whether the Bureau of Industry and Security will alter equipment licensing conditions for allied fabrication plants before bilateral tariff waivers expire in November.
## Impact map
| Event | Korea | China | Japan | Global impact |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| U.S.-China summit technology firewall | Samsung and SK hynix keep maintenance-only status on China fabs holding 40% NAND and 45% DRAM share | SMIC remains denied advanced DUV and EUV tools under BIS controls | Tokyo Electron faces continued export barriers for advanced deposition equipment to Chinese fabs | AI hardware supply chains stay bifurcated as Washington insulates national security controls from commercial tariffs |
## In this story
- **Companies:** Samsung Electronics, SK hynix
- **Tickers:** 005930.KS, 000660.KS
- **Exposed:** Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, ASML, Tokyo Electron
- **Policy:** Export Controls, Tariffs
- **Impact:** Supply Chain, Capex, Compliance
## Primary sources
1. whitehouse.gov
2. fmprc.gov.cn
3. newscj.com
4. globalkoreapost.co.kr
5. platum.kr
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Cite as: East Asia Brief, "White House keeps chip export controls after Xi-Trump summit," September 27, 2026. https://eastasiabrief.com/trade-policy/white-house-keeps-chip-export-controls-xi-trump-summit-385