ISLAMABAD: The United States has added 80 companies from various countries, including Pakistan, to its export blacklist, as part of its ongoing efforts to restrict the use of American technology in military and strategic programs.
On Tuesday, the US placed six subsidiaries of Inspur Group, China’s top cloud computing and big data provider, along with dozens of other Chinese firms, on its export restriction list. These subsidiaries are accused of aiding the Chinese military’s development of advanced supercomputers. Five of these subsidiaries are located in China, and one is in Taiwan. Inspur Group itself had already been placed on the list in 2023.
The new blacklist includes about 80 companies and organizations, with more than 50 of them based in China. Others are located in Taiwan, Iran, Pakistan, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates. The US aims to restrict China’s ability to advance its high-performance computing, quantum technology, and AI capabilities, as well as to hinder the development of its hypersonic weapons program.
“We will not allow adversaries to exploit American technology to strengthen their militaries and pose a threat to our national security,” said US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
In response, China’s foreign ministry condemned the US move, asserting that it would take necessary actions to protect the legitimate interests of Chinese companies. The Chinese embassy in Washington accused the US of politicizing trade and technology issues by using military-related concerns as a pretext.
In addition to the Chinese entities, the US is also targeting companies involved in supplying Iran with drones and defense materials, as part of its broader effort to disrupt Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs.
The US government places companies on the Entity List based on national security or foreign policy concerns, which means these companies cannot access US goods or technologies without a license, which is typically denied.
Commerce Department official Jeffrey Kessler emphasized that the goal is to prevent US technologies from being misused for military applications such as hypersonic missiles and drones. When Inspur Group was added to the blacklist in 2023, US companies like AMD and Nvidia were scrutinized for their dealings with the company.
The US also added firms like Nettrix Information Industry Co., Suma Technology Co., and Suma-USI Electronics, which are implicated in developing Chinese exascale supercomputers used in military and AI applications.
The restrictions are expected to disrupt key technological advances in China, particularly those related to supercomputing, quantum computing, and AI, by cutting off access to critical US-made components.
