Wednesday 15 / January / 2025
The outgoing administration of US President Joe Biden on Monday unveiled new export rules on advanced computer chips used in artificial intelligence.
This proposed framework is seen as an effort to hinder China and other countries from accessing advanced technology.
"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.
This last-minute Biden administration policy builds on the measures introduced in 2023 that limited the export of certain AI chips to China.
The new rules, however, go beyond China.
Authorizations for exports, re-exports, and domestic transfers will be required as part of the stricter controls on chips.
AI data centers will have to meet enhanced security standards to qualify for chip imports.
Most nations could face restrictions. The proposed framework will cap the number of chips they can buy.
But a group of 18 allies — including Canada, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom — will not be affected by the framework, according to a fact sheet provided by the White House.
Beijing on Monday called the new export rules a "flagrant violation" of international trade rules.
The fresh curbs are "another example of the generalization of the concept of national security and the abuse of export control, and a flagrant violation of international multilateral economic and trade rules", China's Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.
"Previously, US high-tech enterprises, industry organizations, and others have expressed through a variety of channels their dissatisfactions and concerns (…) But the Biden administration turned a deaf ear to the reasonable voices of the industry and insisted on rushing the measures out," it added.
As the framework is set to take effect in 120 days, the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump could still make changes to the new rules.
EU 'concerned' about new rules
While some countries within the European Union will be exempt, the restrictions on others have drawn objections from EU officials, who argue that selling advanced AI chips to EU members poses no security risk to the US.
"We are concerned about the US measures adopted," EU tech and trade chiefs Henna Virkkunen and Maros Sefcovic said in a joint statement.
"We believe it is also in the US economic and security interest that the EU buys advanced AI chips from the US without limitations: we cooperate closely, in particular in the field of security, and represent an economic opportunity for the US, not a security risk."
