Siemens restores full access to chip software in China

Siemens AG said it has received a notice from the US government stating that Washington has removed sales restrictions on chip software in China.

The company stated that the German provider has reinstated full access to its software and technology for its Chinese customers.

The Trump administration restricts sales of chip software in China

According to sources familiar with the matter, the Trump administration made it increasingly difficult for US companies to sell chip design software to China.

The move began when the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security instructed top electronic design automation (EDA) providers—including Germany’s Siemens AG, Synopsys Inc., and Cadence Design Systems Inc.—to halt shipments to Chinese clients.

Sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, as the details were not publicly disclosed, said the letters effectively ordered a stop to all transactions involving China.

A Commerce Department spokesperson confirmed the agency was reviewing key exports to China. In some cases, they said, the US had paused export licenses or imposed additional requirements during the evaluation.

The decision had an immediate impact on EDA stocks. Cadence shares fell 10.7% to $288.61 in New York trading—their steepest single-day drop since March 2020. Synopsys shares also declined sharply, dropping 9.6% to $462.43, the biggest loss since December.

It remains unclear how far-reaching the restrictions will be, but one source noted they could amount to a de facto ban on doing business in China. Synopsys generates around 16% of its revenue from China, while Cadence derives about 12%.

Synopsys resumes its China operations after facing US export restrictions 

Synopsys instructed employees in China to cease services and sales activity in the country and halt accepting new orders to follow the US export restrictions.

The company also stopped providing its yearly and quarterly outlook as it could not license its software to customers in China.

The restrictions applied to several companies, which were forced to halt shipping products to China without obtaining a license to do so, and to revoke those licenses it had already issued, people familiar with the situation said.

The internal letter shared with employees in China stated, “According to our first understanding, these new rules mainly prevent us from selling our products and services in China and will take effect on May 29, 2025.” 

To comply, Synopsys said it was stopping sales and fulfillment in China and had ceased accepting new orders until it received more explanation.

However, according to reliable sources, Synopsys started to provide certain services in China again in June.

Among the services Synopsys restarted included selling non-essential hardware and intellectual property, enabling it to continue serving some existing clients. People who refused to be identified as they were not allowed to speak to the media said.

The EDA company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In the meantime, SolvNet was also relaunched with some restrictions, such as using some Electronic Design Automation software-related documents.

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