Commerce Department

WASHINGTON—The U.S.’s trade deficit widened sharply in October as exports fell amid slowing global demand for U.S. energy goods such as petroleum and natural gas. The trade gap in goods and services expanded in October to a seasonally adjusted $78.2 billion, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, up from a revised $74.1 billion in September. WASHINGTON—The U.S.’s trade deficit widened sharply in October as exports fell amid slowing global demand for U.S. energy goods such as petroleum and…

WASHINGTON—Four leading Chinese solar-cell manufacturers circumvented U.S. tariffs by routing some of their operations through Southeast Asia, a Commerce Department investigation found, according to people familiar with it.The preliminary findings from the closely watched probe—expected to be unveiled Friday—are likely to accelerate importers’ race to find alternative sources either domestically or from other places abroad to meet soaring demand for solar panels. The investigation began in March and prompted…

WASHINGTON—U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai met with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao Friday to discuss trade issues, in Ms. Tai’s first face-to-face meeting with a senior Chinese official since taking office in 2020, her office said. The session came on the heels of President Biden’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday, in which the two leaders agreed to maintain …

US chip maker Nvidia Corp is offering a new advanced chip in China that meets recent export control rules aimed at keeping cutting-edge technology out of China's hands, the company confirmed. Nvidia responded to Reuters' reporting that Chinese computer sellers are advertising products with the new chip. The chip, called the A800, represents the first reported effort by a US semiconductor company to create advanced processors for China that follow new US trade rules. Nvidia has said the export limitations could cost it…

The U.S. economy grew at a 2.6% annual rate in the third quarter despite consumers slowing their spending. It contracted earlier in the year.The third-quarter gross domestic product report covers the three-month period from July to September, which included mixed signals on the economy’s performance. Consumer inflation remained close to a four-decade high as broad price pressures persisted. The Federal Reserve continued raising interest rates rapidly to slow economic activity enough to bring down inflation. Many…

Sales of newly built homes dropped sharply in September from the previous month, the latest sign that rising interest rates are causing an abrupt slowdown in the housing market. New-home sales fell 10.9% in September from August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 603,000, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. From a year earlier, new-home sales fell 17.6%. While new-home sales figures can be volatile and are often revised, the decline in September marks the fourth…

SINGAPORE : American workers hold key positions throughout China’s domestic chip industry, helping manufacturers develop new chips to catch up with foreign rivals. Now, those workers are in limbo under new US export control rules that prohibit US citizens from supporting China’s advanced chip development. …

BEIJING–U.S. chip equipment suppliers are pulling out staff based at China’s leading memory chip maker and pausing business activities there, according to people familiar with the matter, as they rush to assess the impact of Commerce Department semiconductor export restrictions.State-owned Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. is facing a freeze in support from key suppliers including KLA Corp. KLAC -6.15% and Lam Research Corp. LRCX…

SEOUL—South Korean memory-chip maker SK Hynix Inc. 000660 4.21% received a one-year exemption from new U.S. restrictions blocking exports of advanced chips and related equipment to China, a sign of Washington’s willingness to offer reprieves that help minimize potential disruption to global semiconductor production.The new rules, unveiled Friday by the Commerce Department, add new license requirements for advanced semiconductors and chip-making equipment destined to a…

Shares of Asia’s largest semiconductor makers declined Tuesday as investors expressed fear about broad ramifications on the sector from new U.S. restrictions on exporting chips and related equipment to China. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. , the world’s biggest contract chip maker, dropped 8.3% Tuesday to its lowest closing in more than two years. TSMC TSM -3.31% has chip fabrication facilities—or…