The US has unveiled more restrictions on advanced AI chip exports, according to a White House press release published on Monday.
The rules, which were leaked earlier this month, take a nation-based approach where countries are divided into one of three tiers. One tier puts no chip export restrictions on countries, which are 18 US allies, while a second tier puts some quantity restrictions on other countries. The third tier bars all advanced chip exports to countries on that list entirely.
Last week, a report found that countries like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Nordic countries, and most of Western Europe would face no chip restrictions, meaning they can import as many advanced US chips as they’d like.
But much of Central and South America as well as much of Africa, the Middle East, Portugal, Eastern Europe, Switzerland, and Southeast Asia would face some restrictions. Nations in this second tier would still be able to import some advanced AI chips, but they would be subject to a maximum of 1,700 advanced GPUs per order without a license, with orders under 1,700 not counting toward the per-country maximum of 50,000 advanced GPUs each.
The White House says this 1,700 number should be enough for most purposes. “The overwhelming majority of chip orders are in this category, especially those being placed by universities, medical institutions, and research organizations for clearly innocuous purposes. Streamlined processing of these orders represents an improvement over the status quo, rapidly accelerating low-risk shipments of US technology around the world,” the Biden White House’s release reads.
Countries facing chip caps can increase the number of allowed chips if nations or importers adhere to certain US security standards. Those who apply for “National Verified End User” status could be allowed to buy up to 320,000 GPUs over the next two years.
Nations under a full chip export ban—which includes China and Russia as well as other US-sanctioned countries—are being further restricted in an effort to stop them from training AI models or using AI for military or intelligence purposes.
Nvidia, the largest US designer and seller of advanced AI chips, has repeatedly protested this latest round of restrictions. The White House says the new rules are intended to make and keep the US a leader in AI, but Nvidia VP of Government Affairs Ned Finkle argues this will “undermine America’s leadership.”
“A last-minute rule restricting exports to most of the world would be a major shift in policy that would not reduce the risk of misuse but would threaten economic growth and US leadership,” an Nvidia spokesperson previously told Bloomberg in a statement. “The worldwide interest in accelerated computing for everyday applications is a tremendous opportunity for the US to cultivate, promoting the economy and adding US jobs.”
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Oracle has similarly protested the new restrictions, arguing that “GPU supply chains are tightly controlled” already and that the new set of rules “likely pushes the rest of the world to Chinese technology, which the CCP will be only too happy to leverage to catch up with the US.”
But Nvidia, Oracle, and others will have 120 days to comment on the legislation to protest the rules. This means the incoming Trump administration could make changes when President-elect Trump takes office Jan. 20.
This latest round of restrictions could help limit who gets access to advanced Nvidia chips. But it’s possible this may not be enough to close existing loopholes—like where individuals smuggle chips from a more US-friendly country to China.
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About Kate Irwin
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