The US has held off adding China's AI startup DeepSeek to the Commerce Department's Entity List, a trade blacklist that would restrict American technology exports to the company, even though an interagency committee approved it for listing in 2025. This delay, along with more than 100 other flagged companies, reflects a broader pattern of trade policy overshadowing critical national security enforcement under the Trump administration.

What Is the Entity List and Why Does It Matter?

The Entity List is a powerful tool that prevents US companies from shipping goods, software, and technology to blacklisted organizations without government approval, which is typically denied. Since October 2025, the US has not posted any new additions to the list, marking the longest gap in more than a decade. This stagnation is significant because it leaves potential security vulnerabilities unaddressed.

DeepSeek, whose low-cost AI model sent shockwaves through the technology world in January 2025, has been flagged by US officials for supporting China's military and intelligence operations. The startup also attempted to use Southeast Asian shell companies to illegally access advanced US chips, according to a senior State Department official. Additionally, Anthropic and OpenAI have both reported that DeepSeek and other Chinese AI labs have conducted campaigns to illicitly extract capabilities from their models.

Why Is the Trump Administration Delaying These Listings?

According to sources familiar with the matter, Jeffrey Kessler, the under secretary of commerce for industry and security, has sought to avoid listing Chinese parties since late 2025 out of concern about escalating tensions between the US and China. This cautious approach stands in contrast to the urgent national security concerns that prompted the original approvals.

The delay affects far more than just DeepSeek. At least 75 Chinese entities involved in advanced semiconductor production, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and AI modeling have been approved for blacklisting but remain unpublished. Multiple Chinese companies were also flagged for supplying Russian drones recovered in Poland, and dozens more were identified for selling restricted Nvidia chips to Chinese universities.

"The Entity List is like whack-a-mole and you've got to keep whacking the moles," said Philip Luck, who studies global supply chains at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Philip Luck, Researcher at the Center for Strategic and International Studies

Luck added that the lack of new listings is likely allowing American technology to reach adversaries who could use it against the US. Kevin Kurland, a former Commerce Department official, emphasized the broader problem: "The fact the US 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".

Luck

How to Understand the Broader Impact on US Technology Export Controls

• Regulatory Gaps: Early in 2025, the Bureau of Industry and Security said it would replace a Biden-era regulation governing global access to US-origin AI chips, but has still not published a replacement and is not enforcing the earlier rule, creating potential loopholes for exports to Chinese companies.
• Delayed Enforcement: The interagency committee that decides whether to add entities to the list has approved companies for blacklisting, but the Commerce Department has not published them, creating a backlog of security measures waiting to be implemented.
• Competing Priorities: The Trump administration's focus on avoiding escalation with Beijing appears to be taking precedence over the use of export controls as a national security enforcement mechanism, according to multiple sources familiar with the decision-making process.

The situation reflects a fundamental tension in US technology policy. On one hand, officials recognize that companies like DeepSeek pose genuine security risks and have formally approved their addition to enforcement lists. On the other hand, the administration is reluctant to implement those decisions, fearing diplomatic consequences in an already tense US-China relationship over technology, trade, and national security.

This delay has real consequences. Without Entity List designations, US suppliers may unknowingly sell advanced technology to companies that support China's military capabilities or conduct campaigns to steal AI capabilities from American firms. The longer the backlog remains unpublished, the greater the window for technology transfer that could undermine US strategic interests in artificial intelligence and semiconductors.