The US Commerce Department withdrew a draft rule intended to replace a Biden-era regulation on AI chip exports, stating the proposal was only preliminary. The withdrawn draft considered a new approach, requiring foreign investments in US data centers or government assurances as conditions for large-scale chip exports, which differed from the previous administration's tiered system.
The move highlights internal disagreements within the Trump administration on balancing AI supremacy and national security. The Commerce Department remains committed to promoting secure tech exports but has rejected returning to the prior administration's framework, which it views as burdensome.
Main Topics: US AI chip export policy, regulatory changes between administrations, national security and AI dominance, international conditions for technology access.
The US Commerce Department withdrew a planned rule on artificial-intelligence chip exports on Friday, the latest backpedaling by the Trump administration in its efforts to promote secure American AI dominance.
The department had sent a draft rule, to replace a January 2025 Biden-era regulation on global access to AI chips, to other agencies for feedback late last âmonth.
A notification for â the "AI â Action Plan Implementation" rule was posted on the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs website on February 26, saying the ârule was pending review, before it was pulled on Friday. "This supposed rule was always a draft and âremains a draft," a US official said in a statement when asked about the withdrawal. "All discussions that were previously reported were preliminary." Last spring, the Commerce Department said it was going to ârevoke and replace the Biden-era rule with a much simpler â one that ensured âAmerican AI dominance, but no new regulation appeared.
The latest Trump draft âconsidered requiring investments âby foreign countries in US data centers or security guarantees as a â condition for granting exports of 200,000 chips or more, according to âa document seen by Reuters last week.
Foreign firms that wanted âup to 100,000 chips would need to provide government-to-government assurances, the document said.
The plan departed markedly from the Biden approach, which divided the world into three tiers: allies that could receive unlimited chips; much of the world, which was subject to limited numbers; and countries of concern that were blocked from receiving the coveted chips. The Biden rule capped a four-year effort âby that administration to hobble China's access to advanced chips while maintaining US leadership in AI.
A former official said on Friday that the withdrawal of âthe latest planned ârule likely reflects differing â views within the Trump administration on how to achieve global AI supremacy and address national security concerns. The Commerce Department posted on March 5 on X that it was "committed to promoting secure âexports of the American tech stack." It said there were internal government discussions about formalizing the approach it took with deals to send US chips to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, where both countries agreed to invest in the US But it said the department would not return to the Biden AI diffusion rule, which it described as burdensome.
The department had sent a draft rule, to replace a January 2025 Biden-era regulation on global access to AI chips, to other agencies for feedback late last âmonth.
A notification for â the "AI â Action Plan Implementation" rule was posted on the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs website on February 26, saying the ârule was pending review, before it was pulled on Friday. "This supposed rule was always a draft and âremains a draft," a US official said in a statement when asked about the withdrawal. "All discussions that were previously reported were preliminary." Last spring, the Commerce Department said it was going to ârevoke and replace the Biden-era rule with a much simpler â one that ensured âAmerican AI dominance, but no new regulation appeared.
The latest Trump draft âconsidered requiring investments âby foreign countries in US data centers or security guarantees as a â condition for granting exports of 200,000 chips or more, according to âa document seen by Reuters last week.
Foreign firms that wanted âup to 100,000 chips would need to provide government-to-government assurances, the document said.
The plan departed markedly from the Biden approach, which divided the world into three tiers: allies that could receive unlimited chips; much of the world, which was subject to limited numbers; and countries of concern that were blocked from receiving the coveted chips. The Biden rule capped a four-year effort âby that administration to hobble China's access to advanced chips while maintaining US leadership in AI.
A former official said on Friday that the withdrawal of âthe latest planned ârule likely reflects differing â views within the Trump administration on how to achieve global AI supremacy and address national security concerns. The Commerce Department posted on March 5 on X that it was "committed to promoting secure âexports of the American tech stack." It said there were internal government discussions about formalizing the approach it took with deals to send US chips to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, where both countries agreed to invest in the US But it said the department would not return to the Biden AI diffusion rule, which it described as burdensome.
Meridiano
