AI Policy USA Wants to Control Exports of AI Chips More Closely Worldwide

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Washington is apparently working on new rules for the export of AI chips. In future, even sales to partner countries could have to be approved—in some cases linked to conditions, security assurances and investments in the USA.

The US government apparently wants to become much more involved in the global export of AI chips. According to consistent reports, the Department of Commerce in Washington is working on a set of rules that would tie exports of high-performance chips from providers such as Nvidia and AMD much more closely to approvals from the US authorities in future. This would significantly increase Washington's control over the development of global AI infrastructure.

Up to now, comparable restrictions have mainly applied to certain countries, primarily China and Russia. The new approach would now extend this logic globally. In practical terms, this would mean that anyone wishing to buy powerful US AI chips would have to obtain approval from Washington in significantly more cases than before.

More Control Even for Smaller Deliveries

According to the drafts currently under discussion, even smaller installations with fewer than 1,000 chips could be subject to approval. Additional conditions would be required for exceptions. For example, exporters would have to monitor the use of the chips and recipients would have to accept technical precautions that prevent subsequent interconnection to form larger clusters.

The larger the planned data center, the stricter the requirements are likely to be. For more extensive projects, pre-clearance would therefore be necessary before export licenses can even be applied for. Conditions such as detailed information on the business model or even on-site inspections by US authorities are also on the table.

According to the available reports, not only companies but also governments would be held accountable for particularly large projects. Washington could demand security guarantees for very large chip deployments and make investments in the United States a condition. Agreements with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates would serve as a model.

Washington As Gatekeeper of the AI Infrastructure

Politically, the US government is pursuing a two-pronged approach. On the one hand, it is emphasizing that the world should continue to use American AI technology. On the other hand, it wants to determine the conditions under which other countries and companies gain access to this key technology.

This would effectively make the USA the gatekeeper of the global AI infrastructure. In future, whether a country can build new data centers could no longer depend solely on capital, energy supply and space, but also on political goodwill in Washington.

However, it is still unclear how restrictive the system will actually be in the end. According to information from government circles, these are still drafts that could still change significantly. The Ministry of Trade also emphasized that it did not want to return to the previous government's regulations, which had been criticized internally for being too far-reaching.

Technology Becomes Hostage to Politics

Nevertheless, the project creates new uncertainty for companies and countries around the world. If licenses are granted quickly, the expansion of AI infrastructure could continue, albeit with significantly more bureaucracy. If, on the other hand, there are delays or tough negotiations, investment and construction plans would become considerably more complicated.

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The question of whether the USA will link access to AI chips more closely to foreign and trade policy interests in future is particularly sensitive. Critics warn that export licenses could thus become an instrument in broader diplomatic negotiations. This would further increase dependency on Washington, especially for countries with their own ambitions to build large AI data centers.

Competition with China also plays a key role in the background. The US not only wants to better monitor the flow of sensitive chips, but also prevent Chinese companies from gaining indirect access to large computing capacities via third countries. The new rules would therefore not only be industrial policy, but also another element in the geopolitical race for control over the infrastructure of the AI age.(sg)