US considers rule changes for AI chip exports

The plans are still being planned and coordinated and are subject to change, the insiders emphasized. A statement from the US government was not immediately available.

The current regulation—the "Framework for Artificial Intelligence Diffusion"—was issued by the Department of Commerce in January, one week before President Joe Biden's term ends. It is scheduled to take effect on May 15. Its goal is to control access, particularly to the most advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips. These chips are to be reserved for the United States and its allies and kept away from China and certain other countries.

Biden administration's classifications raise questions

The world is divided into three tiers: Category 1 includes almost 20 close allies of the US, from Great Britain to Germany to Taiwan, for whom there are no restrictions. The second tier, with approximately 120 countries, is subject to caps on orders for the best AI chips. The third tier includes countries such as China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, which are to be denied access at all.

The Trump administration has indicated for months that it wants to make the regulations "stricter but simpler." The current system has also been criticized by experts and industry representatives. Ken Glueck, a senior executive at the software and hardware company Oracle, pointed out that ally Israel and Yemen, partly controlled by the pro-Iranian Houthi militia, are both classified in the second tier. "It wouldn't surprise me if they take a fresh look at this," he said. Nvidia also sharply criticized the regulations upon their introduction. It is also argued that the restrictions could encourage countries to turn to China for the technology.