US President Joe Biden’s administration plans one additional round of restrictions on the export of artificial intelligence (AI) chips from firms such as Nvidia Corp just days before leaving office, a final push in his effort to keep advanced technologies out of the hands of China and Russia.
The US wants to curb the sale of AI chips used in data centers on a country and company basis, with the goal of concentrating AI development in friendly nations and getting businesses around the world to align with US standards, people familiar with the matter said.
The result would be an expansion of semiconductor trade restrictions to most of the world — an attempt to control the spread of AI technology at a time of soaring demand. The regulations, which could be issued as soon as Friday, would create three tiers of chip curbs, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private.
Photo: AFP
At the top level, a small number of US allies would maintain essentially unmitigated access to US chips. A group of adversaries, meanwhile, would be effectively blocked from importing the semiconductors. The vast majority of the world would face limits on the total computing power that can go to one country.
Companies headquartered in nations in that last group would be able to bypass their national limits — and get their own, significantly higher caps — by agreeing to a set of US government security requirements and human rights standards, the people said.
That type of designation — called a validated end user — aims to create a set of trusted entities that develop and deploy AI in secure environments around the world.
Nvidia objected to the proposal in a statement. “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,” Nvidia said. “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.”
A representative of the White House’s National Security Council declined to comment. The US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, which is in charge of chip export controls, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The measures build on years of curbs that already limit the ability of US chipmakers like Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices Inc to sell advanced processors in China and Russia. The US also has sought to prevent adversary nations from accessing cutting-edge technology through intermediaries in places such as the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
The rules follow months of debate over how quickly and broadly to deploy US chips to global data centers. US chips far outperform Chinese ones at AI tasks, companies and entire countries have indicated that they are willing to jump through hoops to gain access to US technology. That gives the US potentially significant leverage to shape global AI development.
The US has “a serious once-in-a-generation moment to leverage US AI technology,” the top Democrat and Republican on the House China Select Committee wrote last week in a letter to US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
RSS