DeepSeek escapes US Entity List as White House delays blacklisting over 100 Chinese firms
8 Sources
[1]
DeepSeek was set to be added to US Entity List for supporting China's military and intelligence operations, report claims -- White House holds off to avoid escalating tensions with China
The U.S. is apparently avoiding an escalation and prioritizing stability by keeping DeepSeek, CXMT, and other Chinese companies from the Entity List, at least for now. AI outfit DeepSeek, along with over a hundred other Chinese companies, was slated for addition to the Department of Commerce's
[2]
U.S. holds off blacklisting China's DeepSeek, more than 100 firms deemed security risks
The U.S. has held off adding China's AI startup DeepSeek, memory chipmaker CXMT and more than 100 other companies flagged as national security risks to a trade blacklist, according to two people familiar with the matter, as the Trump administration tries to avoid escalating tensions with
[3]
The US almost blacklisted DeepSeek for contributing to China's military and intelligence -- but the White House held back to avoid escalating tensions
* DeepSeek was recommended to be added to the US Entity List * The company was accused of assisting Chinese military and intelligence * White House avoided blacklisting companies ahead of Trump China visit Despite claims from Anthropic that Chinese AI firm DeepSeek distilled its Claude model to
[4]
DeepSeek reportedly won't be banned in U.S. (for now)
Credit: Algi Febri Sugita / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images DeepSeek isn't being banned in the U.S. -- at least, for now. Reuters reports that the Trump administration is holding off on adding the Chinese AI company to the U.S. Department of Commerce's Entity List, allowing it to
[5]
U.S. held back blacklisting DeepSeek, over 100 Chinese firms despite security concerns, sources say
America has delayed adding over 100 Chinese firms, including AI startup DeepSeek and chipmaker CXMT, to a trade blacklist. These companies were flagged for national security risks. The US aims to prevent further escalation of tensions with Beijing. The U.S. has held off adding China's AI startup
[6]
Trump Administration Holds Off Blacklisting DeepSeek And More Than 100 Chinese Companies Flagged As Secur
The Donald Trump administration has reportedly delayed adding Chinese AI startup DeepSeek, memory chipmaker CXMT and more than 100 other Chinese companies identified as national security risks to a U.S. trade blacklist. DeepSeek, CXMT Among Firms Approved For US Blacklist DeepSeek, ChangXin
[7]
US holds off on adding DeepSeek, CXMT to trade blacklist, Reuters reports By Investing.com
Investing.com-- The Trump administration has delayed adding Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek and memory chipmaker CXMT to a U.S. trade blacklist, despite both companies having been approved for inclusion by an interagency committee last year, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing
[8]
DeepSeek dodges addition to US trade blacklist
STORY: DeepSeek has avoided being added to a U.S. trade blacklist. Sources have told Reuters that Washington has held off updating the so-called Entity List. DeepSeek, and more than 100 other Chinese companies including chipmaker CXMT, had been approved for addition to the list last year by an
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The Trump administration has postponed adding Chinese AI startup DeepSeek and more than 100 other firms to the Commerce Department's Entity List despite approval from an interagency committee. The decision aims to prevent further escalation of US-China tensions, even as concerns mount over DeepSeek's alleged support for China's military and intelligence operations and illicit extraction of capabilities from American AI models.
White House Holds Back on DeepSeek Blacklisting
The U.S. has delayed adding DeepSeek and over 100 Chinese companies to the Commerce Department's US Entity List, despite an interagency committee approving these additions last year
1
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. The Trump administration's decision to avoid escalating tensions with China comes as President Donald Trump completed a three-day state visit to Beijing, marking a strategic shift in how the U.S. approaches national security concerns versus diplomatic stability1
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Source: Tom's Hardware
A senior U.S. State Department official told Reuters that the Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has supported China's military and intelligence operations and attempted to use Southeast Asian shell companies to illegally access advanced U.S. chips
2
. The US trade blacklist would prevent American institutions from doing business with listed entities without a license, which is typically denied2
.Allegations of Illicit Capability Extraction from American AI Models
Anthropic identified what it describes as a campaign by DeepSeek and two other Chinese AI labs—Moonshot and MiniMax—to illicitly extract capabilities from its Anthropic's Claude AI platform
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. The distillation effort involved 16 million exchanges with 24,000 fraudulent accounts1
3
. "Distillation can be legitimate: AI labs use it to create smaller, cheaper models for their customers. But foreign labs that illicitly distill American models can remove safeguards, feeding model capabilities into their own military, intelligence, and surveillance systems," Anthropic stated1
. OpenAI also warned lawmakers that DeepSeek was targeting its AI models2
.
Source: ET
CXMT and Broader Implications for US Export Controls on China
Alongside DeepSeek, ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), China's top memory chipmaker, was also approved for the Entity List
2
. The Defense Department designated CXMT as a Chinese military company under the Biden administration, and the Commerce Department considered placing it on the Entity List more than a year ago2
. The delay affects semiconductor supply chains, as companies like Corsair have begun sourcing DRAM chips from the memory chipmaker to address crushing shortages from Micron, Samsung, and SK hynix1
.Related Stories
National Security Concerns Versus Economic Realities
The U.S. has not posted any additions to its US Entity List since October, marking the longest stretch between new postings in more than a decade
5
. Philip Luck from the Center for Strategic and International Studies noted that this gap likely allows American technology to reach adversaries who could use it against U.S. interests5
. Kevin Kurland, a former Commerce Department official, stated, "The fact the U.S. hasn't put any companies on the Entity List since October demonstrates that trade policy is overshadowing the use of a critical national security tool"5
.Many American companies have adopted DeepSeek as a cheaper alternative to frontier AI models from OpenAI and Anthropic
1
3
. DeepSeek recently raised over 50 billion yuan ($7.4 billion) in its first funding round and is now valued at over $50 billion—significantly lower than OpenAI's $852 billion and Anthropic's $965 billion valuations4
. The company makes its frontier AI models available as open-source under an MIT license, allowing free download, use, and modification4
.
Source: Benzinga
Geopolitical Chess Game and Trade Restrictions
The United States and China remain locked in a tense rivalry over technology, trade, and national security, with Washington using tariffs and export controls while China maintains control over rare earth minerals essential for defense, automotive, and chipmaking firms
5
. If the U.S. adds hundreds of firms to the Entity List, Beijing might retaliate by restricting access to these critical materials, further destabilizing US-China tensions1
. China's foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stated that the U.S. should cease "politicizing, instrumentalizing, and weaponizing" economic, trade, and technological issues5
.The U.S. has previously used the Entity List against Chinese tech companies like Huawei, effectively ending their U.S. operations in 2019
4
. Multiple Chinese companies slated for the list include those supplying Russian drones recovered in Poland, firms selling restricted Nvidia chips to Chinese universities, and manufacturers of drones and robot dogs for China's military5
. New York and Texas have already banned DeepSeek from government devices, citing national security concerns4
.References
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