President Trump Blocks China-Backed Fund from Buying US Chip Maker Lattice

President Donald Trump blocked a Beijing-backed fund’s attempt to buy an American chip maker, signaling his administration will closely scrutinize Chinese investment in semiconductor technology. President Trump took the rare step of personally intervening in the transaction after the would-be deal makers asked him to overrule an earlier negative determination from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, a multiagency panel that reviews deals for national-security concerns.

According to a statement from the White House, President Trump believes the transaction could risk U.S. national security due to “the potential transfer of intellectual property to the foreign acquirer, the Chinese government’s role in supporting this transaction, the importance of semiconductor supply chain integrity to the United States Government, and the use of Lattice products by the United States Government.”