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US-China relations
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Trump orders Chinese-linked firm HieFo to divest US chip assets, cites national security

Chinese-linked company ordered to unwind its acquisition of US semiconductor assets, citing national security concerns

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US President Donald Trump is blocking HieFo from acquiring semiconductor-related assets from Emcore, citing national security worries. Photo: AP
Khushboo Razdanin Washington
US President Donald Trump has ordered the forced divestment of semiconductor-related assets acquired by HieFo Corporation, a Delaware-registered company, which he said is controlled by a Chinese citizen, citing national security risks.
In an executive order (EO) issued under the Defence Production Act, Trump on Friday said there was “credible evidence” that HieFo’s acquisition of New Jersey-based Emcore Corporation’s digital chips and related wafer design, fabrication and processing businesses could threaten US national security.
“There is credible evidence that leads me to believe that HieFo Corporation, a company organised under the laws of Delaware [HieFo] and controlled by a citizen of the People’s Republic of China … might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States,” Trump said in the order.
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The EO prohibits HieFo from retaining any ownership or rights in the Emcore assets and gives the company up to 180 days to divest them, subject to oversight by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). The roughly US$3 million transaction, completed on April 30, 2024, is effectively unwound.

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In a May 2025 press release, Emcore said the deal with HieFo involved transferring most assets from its discontinued chips business, including equipment, contracts, intellectual property and inventory tied to its InP wafer fabrication operations in Alhambra, California.

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On its website, HeiFo describes itself as a “California-based company specialising in the production and development of high-efficiency Indium Phosphide (InP) photonic devices for the optical communication industry”.

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