China Lifts Exports of Rare-Earth Products After Trade War Curbs
Customs data released Friday show exports of all rare-earth products rose 80% from a five-year low in May, when the country was in the midst of implementing sweeping export controls. Magnets — a component central to recent trade tensions — typically form the bulk of the 'products' category, but detailed export data on those won't be available until Sunday at the earliest.
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Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US Charges Chinese Nationals With Nvidia Chips Export Breach
(Bloomberg) -- Two Chinese nationals were arrested this week on charges that they sent tens of millions of dollars worth of advanced AI chips made by Nvidia Corp. to China in violation of US export restrictions, according to authorities. Mayor Asked to Explain $1.4 Billion of Wasted Johannesburg Funds PATH Train Service Resumes After Fire at Jersey City Station All Hail the Humble Speed Hump The defendants used a company based in El Monte, California, to export sensitive technology, including graphics processing units, used in artificial intelligence without obtaining the necessary government licenses, the Justice Department said in a statement Tuesday. According to a criminal complaint provided by the agency, the two individuals shipped Nvidia-designed chips including the company's H100 AI accelerators, which are the basis for computers used to create and run artificial intelligence software. Such chips require official approval for sales to certain countries. The accused were identified by authorities as Chuan Geng, 28, of Pasadena, and Shiwei Yang, 28, of El Monte. They have been charged with violating the Export Control Reform Act and could face up to 20 years in prison, according to the Justice Department. Lawyers for the Geng and Yang couldn't be immediately located for comment. Spokespeople for Nvidia didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Over the past several years, the US has steadily tightened restrictions on exports of semiconductors and chipmaking equipment to keep China from gaining ground in the race for AI dominance. The Trump administration is exploring ways to include enhanced location-tracking in AI chips to help with export control enforcement. Up until being superseded earlier this year by a new line of products from Santa Clara, California-based Nvidia, the H100s were considered the most capable such processors. Their export to China and other countries the US has deemed a threat to national security requires licenses from the Commerce Department that are not usually given. In the complaint, authorities called the H100 'the most powerful GPU chip on the market' and claimed the defendants sought to evade US export restrictions on it by shipping through third countries. The Justice Department said Geng and Yang operated a company called ALX Solutions Inc. that was founded in 2022 shortly after the US Commerce Department began requiring licenses to sell such chips to overseas buyers. Export records and other business documents indicate that the company sent at least 20 shipments to shipping and freight-forwarding companies in Singapore and Malaysia but never received payments from those entities, the Justice Department said. ALX Solutions instead received 'numerous payments' from companies based in Hong Kong and China, including a $1 million payment from a China-based company in January 2024, the DOJ said. Those records show that in December 2024, the company had sent a shipment of GPUs that it claimed was in compliance with US export rules, the DOJ said, but neither ALX Solutions nor the defendants had received the US licenses required for such a transaction. Authorities said they searched the ALX Solutions office and seized phones belonging to Geng and Yang and found evidence of communications about shipping chips covered by export controls to China through Malaysia in violation of US restrictions. Yang was also accused of overstaying her visa, according to the Justice Department. Geng is a legal permanent resident, authorities said. A federal judge in Los Angeles on Monday ordered Geng released on a $250,000 bond and scheduled a detention hearing for Yang on Aug. 12. The court did not take any pleas in the case. The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security is assisting the probe, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. --With assistance from Ian King. (Updates with more from government complaint starting in eighth paragraph.) Russia's Secret War and the Plot to Kill a German CEO AI Flight Pricing Can Push Travelers to the Limit of Their Ability to Pay Government Steps Up Campaign Against Business School Diversity What Happens to AI Startups When Their Founders Jump Ship for Big Tech The GOP Is Choosing Pesticides Over the MAHA Moms ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
The Hill
27 minutes ago
- The Hill
Trump call ahead of Russia sanctions deadline ‘productive': Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday said that a call with President Trump ahead of a sanctions deadline for Russia was 'productive.' 'A productive conversation with President Trump, with the key focus of course being ending the war. We are grateful to @POTUS for all efforts toward a just and lasting peace,' Zelensky said in a post on the social platform X. 'It is truly a must to stop the killing as soon as possible, and we fully support this. Many months could have already passed without war, had Russia not been prolonging it,' he added. President Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to go to Russia this week for what Ukraine has referred to as Moscow's 'last chance' to come to a peace deal before U.S. sanctions are imposed on countries that import oil from Russia. On Sunday, Trump said Witkoff 'may be going to Russia' on Wednesday or Thursday in an effort to lock down a ceasefire. Trump has become increasingly frustrated with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has ignored pressure from the president for a peace deal, and he moved up a deadline last week for Russia to come to a peace deal or face increased economic isolation. The president's latest deadline for Russia would technically run out Friday, but Trump has been flexible when it comes to imposing threatened tariffs on other countries. 'Today, we coordinated our positions – Ukraine and the United States. We exchanged assessments of the situation: The Russians have intensified the brutality of their attacks. President Trump is fully informed about Russian strikes on Kyiv and other cities and communities,' Zelensky said in his X post Tuesday. 'Of course, we spoke about sanctions against Russia. Their economy continues to decline, and that's exactly why Moscow is so sensitive to this prospect and President Trump's resolve. This can change a lot,' he added.
Vox
28 minutes ago
- Vox
Did we just lose $7 billion for solar?
This story appeared in The Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here. Welcome to The Logoff: The Trump administration plans to claw back some $7 billion in grant funding for solar energy, its latest attack on renewable energy in the US. What are the grants for? The money the administration is targeting is intended to help with solar panel installation for low- and middle-income households and has been awarded to 60 entities, including 49 state agencies, as part of the Solar for All program. The program is a legacy of the Inflation Reduction Act, the 2022 law that dedicated nearly $370 billion to clean energy, electric vehicle tax breaks, and more. Can the administration do this? We're going to find out. While Congress successfully clawed back money from unobligated Solar for All grants in last month's recissions package, this funding has already been awarded. That makes terminating the grants less straightforward, and the move is likely to be challenged in lawsuits. The New York Times reported that grant cancellation notices could be sent out as soon as this week. How else is the administration going after clean energy? It's a long list. To name a few, the Environmental Protection Agency attempted to cancel an additional $20 billion in already-awarded climate grants earlier this year, only to be blocked by a federal judge, and Trump's reconciliation package cut clean energy subsidies and electric vehicle tax credits while adding new subsidies for coal power. What's the big picture? This latest attack on solar power, and the administration's broader assault on renewables, is bad news for efforts to move away from fossil fuels and advance a more sustainable future. But the bigger picture is still optimistic. Renewable energy buildout around the world is still strong, and even in the US, there's a lot of inertia behind the ongoing transition. Clean energy expansion will continue — despite all of the antagonistic policies coming out of the Trump administration. And with that, it's time to log off…
