The administration of US President Donald Trump has lifted restrictions on exports of chip design software to China, as Washington and Beijing work to dial down hostilities as part of a recent trade agreement.

All three leading chip design software companies – Synopsys, Cadence and Siemens – said they were notified by the US Commerce Department that the export curbs introduced in May had been rescinded.

The United States cut off sales of critical software tools used to design semiconductors to China as part of retaliation for Beijing effectively choking off rare earth exports, which reignited acrimony between the two countries following a trade truce struck in Geneva in mid-May.

The companies’ announcements signal steps by the world’s two largest economies toward implementing a trade agreement formalized last week that centered on rare earths. Under the deal, the US would lift its export curbs on chips software, the chemical ethane and other goods, while China would approve the exports of rare earths to the US.

US firm Cadence and Germany’s Siemens confirmed to CNN that the export control restrictions are no longer in place, while Synopsys, also American, said in a statement that a previous letter issued by the Commerce Department regarding the curb has been rescinded.