WASHINGTON: The United States unveiled new export rules on Monday on chips used for artificial intelligence, furthering efforts to make it tough for China and other rivals to access advanced technology in Joe Biden’s final days as president.

The restrictions build on curbs announced in 2023 on exporting certain AI chips to China, which the United States sees as a strategic competitor.

In recent years, Washington has expanded its efforts to curb exports of state-of-the-art chips to China, which can be used in AI and weapons systems, as Beijing’s tech advancements spark concern among policymakers. “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 United States.

New rules update controls on chips, requiring authorisations for exports, re-exports and in-country transfers

AI data centres meanwhile will need to comply with enhanced security parameters to be able to import chips. But the latest move drew industry criticism and warnings that it would hurt US competitiveness.

Semiconductor Industry Association chief executive John Neuffer said: “We’re deeply disappointed that a policy shift of this magnitude and impact is being rushed out the door days before a presidential transition and without any meaningful input from industry.” He added in a statement that the rule could cause “lasting damage to America’s economy and global competitiveness” by ceding key markets to rivals.

Chip titan Nvidia said in a blog post that “while cloaked in the guise of an ‘anti-China’ measure, these rules would do nothing to enhance US security.”

Trump decision?

The rules make it “hard for our strategic competitors to use smuggling and remote access to evade our export control,” White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said. They also create “incentives for our friends and partners around the world to use trusted vendors for advanced

AI,” he added. The new rules will take effect in 120 days, Raimondo said, giving the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump time to potentially make changes.

Published in Dawn, January 14th, 2025