The Chairman of the US House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, John Moolenaar, sent a letter to the US Secretary of Defense, saying that the US should place both BOE and Tianna on the DoD 1260H blacklist as Chinese military companies.
In his letter, Mr. Moolenaar says that by using government support, the Chinese has taken over the display industry, and are already leading both the LCD and OLED markets (which is indeed mostly true). As these two companies have close ties to the Chinese government and military, this, according to the letter, poses a big risk to US and its allies.
The letter details how China's share of the global LCD production capacity has grown from 0% in 2024 to 72% today, and in the OLED industry from 1% in 2014 to 51% today. This is true for smartphone displays, but the Chinese do not have any meaningful market share in large-area OLED production (for TVs and monitors), and are also behind Korea in other key OLED markets (such as automotive and IT displays).
What is the 1260H blacklist?
Inclusion on the 1260H list alone does not carry any direct legal consequences, but it has reputational impact, and it could mean that companies will have to undergo increased scrutiny by companies and government agencies. Starting in June 2026, new legal restrictions will come into effect - for example the DoD will be prohibited from entering into, renewing, or extending contracts with companies listed in 1260H.
Later in June 2027, these restrictions will be even tighter.
What does that mean for the OLED industry?
While it is not clear whether the DoD will actually go ahead with blacklisting BOE and Tianma, this move could have interesting implications for the display industry. Obviously the main beneficiaries will be Korea's Samsung and LG Display, and also other OLED makers from China - such as Visionox, TCL CSoT, and EDO.
One interesting implication could be that BOE and Tianma will find it more difficult to achieve high-end design wins, at high profile customers, the automotive and aerospace industries, etc. These are high margins projects that also add credibility.
Note that the 1260H blacklist will not prohibit the DoD from purchasing devices that include displays made by BOE or Tianma (which could have larger implications).. It also does not restrict other US government entities from dealing with blacklisted companies.
