Trump blocks Lattice acquisition

President Donald Trump on Wednesday blocked a Beijing-backed fund’s attempt to buy an American chip maker, signaling his administration will closely scrutinize Chinese efforts to invest in US semiconductor technology, The Wall Street Journal reports. Trump rejected the transaction after the would-be deal makers – Chinese government-backed Canyon Bridge Capital Partners and Lattice Semiconductor Corp. – made a rare, direct appeal to him. They had hoped he would overrule an earlier negative recommendation by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US. Instead, the White House said Wednesday that Trump believes the $1.3 billion transaction could have risked US national security due to “the potential transfer of intellectual property to the foreign acquirer, the Chinese government’s role in supporting this transaction, the importance of semiconductor supply chain integrity to the United States Government, and the use of Lattice products by the United States Government.”