US scraps Biden-era rule that aimed to limit exports of AI chips

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The US commerce department has scrapped a rule put in place by the Biden administration that limited exports of artificial intelligence chips, arguing it was full of red tape that made it “unenforceable”, a US official said.

The move by the Trump administration comes as it takes a more lenient approach to the regulation of AI and other advanced technologies domestically and contends with the rise of Chinese companies in the sector.

Instead of allowing the Biden-era controls to take effect on May 15, the official said the Trump administration would draft a rule that would ensure that US technology flourished without allowing American adversaries to gain access to the technology. The official cautioned that the rule would not be imminent and would take some time to put in place.

The “AI diffusion” export controls, introduced in the last days of Joe Biden’s presidency, created a three-tier licensing system for AI chips used in data centres, such as Nvidia’s powerful graphics processing units.

They were aimed at making it harder for Chinese companies to circumvent US export controls by accessing them via third countries.

The planned legislation imposed a cap on chip export volumes for all but a small number of countries, which include G7 members and Taiwan. More than 100 countries fell into this “middle” tier.

The EU, Nvidia and the wider chip industry criticised the rules, which were undergoing an industry feedback period.

Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This is a developing story

Additional reporting by Michael Acton in San Francisco