US announces new restrictions on AI chip exports

SAN FRANCISCO: The United States on Monday unveiled new export rules on advanced computing chips used for artificial intelligence, aiming to facilitate sales to allied nations and further curb access to countries like China.

The restrictions, which also include rules on weights for closed AI models, build on curbs announced in 2023 on exporting certain AI chips to China, which the US sees as a strategic competitor in the field of advanced semiconductors. “The US leads the world in AI now -- both AI development and AI chip design -- and it’s critical that we keep it that way,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told reporters.

The new rules update controls on chips, requiring authorisations for exports, re-exports and in-country transfers -- while also including a series of exceptions for countries considered friendly to the US.

AI data centres meanwhile will need to comply with enhanced security parameters in order to be able to import chips. The rules make it “hard for our strategic competitors to use smuggling and remote access to evade our export control”, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said, while creating “incentives for our friends and partners around the world to use trusted vendors for advanced AI”.

The new rules will go into effect in 120 days, Raimondo said, giving the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump time to potentially make changes. Trump put heavy tariffs on China during his first term. However, his backers in Silicon Valley could also see the rules as an undue burden on their ability to export products.