Microsoft has been lobbying the US government to abandon plans to bar the import of optical transceivers made in China, according to Reuters.

Citing sources familiar with the matter, the newswire reported that Microsoft is one of several US organisations involved in the construction of data centres that has made the appeal to the Trump administration.

The source added that a total ban on Chinese optical transceivers, which play a crucial role within data centres, with the argument that a ban would seriously hamper the US data centre buildout and put it at US firms at a disadvantage compared to Chinese competitors.

Analysis by the market intelligence firm Cleanview published earlier this year found that Microsoft had 134 planned data centres in the US alone, with 35 under construction.

Reuters reported in August that the Trump administration and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was seeking to ban imports of Chinese optical transceivers to the US.

The newswire said that officials were concerned that the components, which are essential for high-speed data transfer via optical cables within a data centre, could be used by Chinese firms to steal data or deploy malware.

At the time, the White House and the FCC did not respond to requests for comment but the Chinese embassy in Washington told Reuters that the US must “stop smearing Chinese companies and threatening them with sanctions”.

It added: “China will take all necessary measures in response to any action that causes material harm to its ​interests.”

John Miller, general counsel of the tech lobbying group the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), told Reuters that a ban could stop the data centre construction sector to a halt.

Data centres tend to contain tens of thousands of the component at a minimum. Miller warned Reuters that without them, the GPUs and other hardware that tech giants have already purchased will sit unused.

China currently accounts for around 60 per cent of all optical transceiver manufacturing, per data from market intelligence firm Counterpoint Research. One company, Zhongji Innolight, accounts for 27 per cent of the market alone.

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