File: President Donald Trump looks on after signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House on April 9, 2025.<\/p>\n
Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty Images<\/p>\n
A company controlled by a Chinese national was ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday to unwind a $2.9 million acquisition of chip assets from a U.S. manufacturer, citing national security concerns.<\/p>\n
The White House said in an executive order<\/a> that HieFo Corporation, incorporated in Delaware, was “controlled by a citizen of the People’s Republic of China.”<\/p>\n HieFo acquired the digital chips and related wafer design, fabrication, and processing businesses of New Jersey-based Emcore on April 30, 2024, which included a semiconductor manufacturing facility<\/a>, the Treasury Department said in a separate statement.<\/p>\n The potential diversion of the supply of indium phosphide chips manufactured by Emcore’s digital chips business away from the U.S. was also identified as a national security risk, the Treasury Department added.<\/p>\n HieFo and Emcore did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment.<\/p>\n The Global Times, a Chinese government mouthpiece, citing an expert, said the divestment order “reflects Washington’s anxiety over technology competition with China” as it was made without<\/a> a convincing rationale.<\/p>\n The Treasury Department said the deal was not notified to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, known as CFIUS, prompting a review by its non-notified transactions team.<\/p>\n “CFIUS identified a national security risk arising from the transaction relating to potential access to EMCORE’s intellectual property, proprietary know-how, and expertise,” the Treasury Department said.<\/p>\n HieFo was ordered to divest all acquired assets within 180 days and to immediately restrict access to Emcore’s technical information.<\/p>\n