Fact Check: Did Trump ‘Ship Semiconductors to China’ for Military Use?

Vice President Kamala Harris pledged on Wednesday to build an economy that supports both businesses and the middle class, while providing some new details about her economic platform. She emphasized that the goal is to ensure America, not China, leads the competition for the 21st century.

Speaking at the Economic Club of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, Harris said she would be “pragmatic” and open to “good ideas from wherever they come.” She defended her proposal for a lower tax rate for U.S. manufacturers and vowed to impose tariffs that would prompt an “exodus” of jobs.

The Claim

During her speech, Harris criticized Trump’s proposal to impose high tariffs on China, including a 10 to 20 percent tariff on all imports and a 60 percent tariff on Chinese goods. She also said that Trump’s policies made it easier for China to acquire advanced semiconductor chips, which they then use for military applications.

“Donald Trump actually shipped advanced semiconductor chips to China which helps them upgrade their military. Understand the impact of these so-called policies that really are not about a plan for strengthening our prosperity or our security,” Harris said.

This is not the first time Harris mentioned the matter, last raising the topic during the presidential debate on September 10, when she also accused Trump of selling semiconductors to China, aiding its military upgrades. That claim came as part of a broader condemnation of Trump’s trade policies, accusing him of initiating trade wars that harmed the U.S. economy.

The Facts

The claim that Trump “sold out” the U.S. by shipping semiconductors to China is not supported by evidence.

In fact, Trump’s administration took significant steps to limit China’s access to sensitive technologies, including semiconductors. In 2017, his administration blocked the acquisition of Lattice Semiconductor, a U.S. chipmaker, by a Chinese firm, citing national security risks.

In late 2020, just before he left office, Trump also imposed strict restrictions on large Chinese chip and drone manufacturers, including Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), China’s largest chipmaker, over to concerns that exports to SMIC could be used for military purposes.

The U.S. Department of Commerce stated that sales to SMIC “may pose an unacceptable risk of diversion to a military end use” in China. These actions were part of broader efforts to limit China’s access to advanced technologies with potential military applications.

However, there were loopholes in Trump’s blacklist of products to Chinese companies, such as limited restrictions on advanced chips and waivers for American firms looking to expand their market share abroad.

In 2019, the Trump administration banned sales to Chinese telecom giants like Huawei, and the Biden administration has expanded controls on critical technology exports to China since 2022.

The Ruling

We found Harris’ claim to be highly misleading.

The Trump administration took active steps to limit China’s access to American-made semiconductors, especially in cases where exports posed a national security risk.

Although Chinese military bodies, state-run AI research institutes, and universities have found ways to circumvent the U.S. ban and acquire chips from American companies like Nvidia, this does not indicate that the Trump administration was involved in selling chips to China, as Harris suggested.

On the other hand, the Biden administration has faced criticism for loosening some of these restrictions, particularly by allowing certain sales to companies like Huawei.

While both administrations have handled the complexities of semiconductor exports differently, there is no evidence to support claims that Trump facilitated semiconductor shipments to China that it then used for military purposes.

FACT CHECK BY Jesus Mesa