Trump government revokes restrictions on exporting AI semiconductors to international marketplaces
AI Export Regulations Under Review: What's Changing?
📅 May 11, 2023
In a recent twist, the U.S. Department of Commerce has decided to scrap a rule set to be implemented under the Biden administration that would have restricted the export of artificial intelligence (AI) chips to certain international markets. This move follows criticism from both the tech industry and foreign nations.
According to the Department, the abandoned regulations would have squashed American innovation and burdened businesses with excessive red tape.
President Joe Biden implemented the export framework before leaving office, aiming to strike a balance between national security concerns and the economic interests of producers and other countries. The U.S. had already imposed restrictions on adversaries such as China and Russia, yet some controls had loopholes, and the rule would have imposed more stringent limits on a broader range of countries, including some that were previously allied with President Donald Trump.
Undoubtedly, the Biden rule's classification of more than 100 countries into different tiers of export restrictions met significant resistance from those countries, as well as U.S. chipmakers like Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices. These companies argued that the restrictions could potentially drive some countries to seek AI technology from China rather than the U.S.
Microsoft's president, Brad Smith, voiced concerns, stating that the rule "sent a message to 120 nations that they couldn't necessarily count on us to provide the AI they want and need" during a Senate hearing last week.
Commerce Undersecretary Jeffery Kessler announced that the Trump administration will work towards a new rule to encourage collaborations with "trusted foreign countries" while denying AI technology to adversaries. Although a replacement rule is in the works, the administration has yet to reveal its details.
The European Commission expressed its support for the change, with spokesperson Thomas Regnier arguing that the Biden rule, if implemented, would "undermine U.S. diplomatic relations with dozens of countries by downgrading them to second-tier status." AI chips' exports to the European Union should not be restricted, Regnier emphasized, as the two regions have close collaborations, particularly in the security sector, and the EU represents an economic opportunity for the U.S.
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(Additional context: The Department of Commerce has issued guidance to notify the industry of the risks of using advanced computing ICs from countries like China, particularly Huawei Ascend chips. The Department has also advised U.S. companies on safeguarding their supply chains against diversion tactics and cautioned against allowing U.S. AI chips to be used for training and inference of Chinese AI models.)
- In the tech industry, Microsoft's president, Brad Smith, has expressed concerns about the potential impact of the AI export regulations on U.S. business relationships with more than 100 countries.
- The abandoned AI export regulations, which aimed to restrict the export of AI chips, were criticized for potentially hurting American businesses and driving some countries towards seeking AI technology from adversaries like China.
- The Department of Commerce's decision to review the AI export regulations could have significant implications for the technology sector, particularly in the fields of artificial intelligence and business relationships with international markets, including Seattle-based companies like Microsoft.
