President of the United States Donald Trump signed an executive order this Friday that forces a company based in Delaware and controlled by a Chinese citizen to carry out a forced divestment of semiconductor operations it acquired in 2024 from an American company, alleging that the transaction poses a danger to national security. The executive order prohibits HieFo, domiciled in the state of Delaware, from retaining any ownership or rights over the assets, which include chips and operations related to the design, manufacturing, and processing of wafers, that it purchased from the American company EMCORE, based in New Jersey. The decree considers the transaction null and void, which was closed in April 2024, and grants HieFo a period of up to 180 days to carry out the divestment. In the order, Trump states that there is 'reliable evidence' that HieFo, 'a company constituted under the laws of Delaware and controlled by a citizen of the People's Republic of China,' could 'take actions that threaten the national security of the U.S.' through the purchase of assets from EMCORE. This action highlights the growing control Washington wants to exert over China-linked investments in strategic U.S. sectors such as semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, or artificial intelligence, in a context marked by growing geopolitical and technological competition with Beijing.
