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President Donald Trump said yesterday he will soon have an announcement on whether the US will ease microchip export restrictions to some Gulf countries.
“We might be doing that, yeah,” Trump said. “And it will be announced soon.”
Trump is preparing for his first major diplomatic trip next week that includes a three-country Middle East tour that begins in Saudi Arabia.
The Biden administration imposed strict controls on exports of American AI chips to the Middle East over fears the prized semiconductors could be diverted to China and harnessed to bolster Beijing’s military. But Trump has made improving ties with some countries in the region a key goal of his administration.
Trump also said that he also plans to soon address reports that the US is moving to change the name of the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Gulf or Gulf of Arabia.
Meanwhile, Trump told reporters yesterday he would not pull back tariffs on Chinese goods in order to get China to the negotiating table, countering speculation that he might lower hefty 145 per cent tariffs to break the ice.
Trump’s comments came as top US officials and their Chinese counterparts are scheduled to meet in Switzerland this weekend to hold trade discussions, boosting hopes for a potential deescalation in the US-China trade war.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and trade representative Jamieson Greer will meet with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in the most senior-level talks since Trump’s tariff push launched in early April.
Trump said earlier this week that he has no plans to speak to China’s Xi Jinping, though he had suggested recently that he would be willing to soften the tariffs on imports from China.
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