By Karen Freifeld
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States on Friday added 31 Chinese companies, including memory chip maker YMTC Yangtze Memory Technologies Co, to a list of entities that U.S. officials could not inspect to verify they can be trusted to responsibly handle sensitive technology exports.
The U.S. also removed nine entities from the “unverified list,” including Wuxi Biologics, which was placed on the list in February sending its shares plummeting on the news.
U.S. exporters must conduct additional due diligence before sending goods to companies on the list and may have to apply for more licenses.
The “unverified list” is also a potential stepping stone to a tougher trade blacklist from the Commerce Department.
(Reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by Chris Gallagher and Chizu Nomiyama)
