13 votes

US introduces additional export restrictions on AI-chips

Posted by CptBluebear
Tags: usa, china, tech industry, politics, democratic party, joe biden, policy.technology, geopolitics, business, nvidia, manufacturing, consumer electronics, 2nm, artificial intelligence, trade, exports, sanctions, author.josh boak, author.matt obrien, source.associated press
https://apnews.com/article/biden-ai-artificial-intelligence-chips-computer-trade-4495b5b4a48e856dc612e7abe3e47d20

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Title
Biden's administration proposes new rules on exporting AI chips, provoking an industry pushback
Published
Jan 13 2025
Word count
818 words

4 comments

  1. [2]
    CptBluebear
    (edited )
    Link
    Ho boy, a lot of development in the chip sector. I tend not to open a lot of topics myself, even less so two in a row about similar topics, but these two are perfectly aligned and related so I...

    Ho boy, a lot of development in the chip sector.

    I tend not to open a lot of topics myself, even less so two in a row about similar topics, but these two are perfectly aligned and related so I can't help myself. The other topic can be found here.

    These export restrictions divide the world into three "tiers" with the first tier being unrestricted, the second tier having restrictions on the count, and the third tier being completely barred from importing these chips.

    Tiers Countries Export Rules
    Tier 1 Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. Unrestricted
    Tier 2 Rest of World 50,000 GPU's / 100,000* / 320,000**
    Tier 3 Hostile Countries - Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, more? None

    *100,000 units can be requested in government-to-government deals if their renewable energy and technological security goals are aligned with the United States.
    **320,000 for institutions in certain countries that could also apply for a certain legal status.

    Then in addition to this all:

    Also, computer chip orders equivalent to 1,700 advanced graphics processing units would not need a license to import or count against the national chip cap, among the other standards set by the framework. The exception for the 1,700 graphics processing units would likely help to meet the orders for universities and medical institutions, as opposed to data centers.

    With TSMC Arizona, Intel grants, and this, you're looking at a United States that is increasingly pulling a market in towards a duo- to near-monopoly.

    As an entirely unrelated note, I appreciate a simple tier system to designate world orders. We should've done something like that a long time ago! /j

    Edit to add: the table should have three columns, the first one being Tier 1, 2, and 3 respectively.

    8 votes
    1. JCPhoenix
      Link Parent
      I remember seeing a term some years ago that I feel like is applicable here: Weaponized Interdependence. I think I first heard about it regarding the US laptop/electronics bans for travelers from...

      I remember seeing a term some years ago that I feel like is applicable here: Weaponized Interdependence. I think I first heard about it regarding the US laptop/electronics bans for travelers from certain countries and airlines in the MENA during the first Trump admin. It was done in the name of security (shocker), but the assumption was that it was to protect US airlines from competition from MENA carriers.

      This is basically that again. We (the West, but particularly the US) spent at least the last 70-80yrs encouraging liberalization of markets and free trade, which naturally promoted interdependence. And now we're pulling back from that. Not just pulling back, but taking straight up advantage of it.

      Even if one thinks that globalization and capitalism and all that is bad, I don't think this is something to root for.

      1 vote
  2. [2]
    turmacar
    Link
    How does that even work if most of those chips aren't produced in the US? Designs can't be sent to the chip factories in Taiwan/Korea?

    How does that even work if most of those chips aren't produced in the US? Designs can't be sent to the chip factories in Taiwan/Korea?

    1 vote
    1. infpossibilityspace
      Link Parent
      From CptBlueBear's table, Taiwan and South Korea are on the unrestricted list, so that's not a problem. Even if they were Tier-2 countries it likely wouldn't matter. The restriction is for the...

      From CptBlueBear's table, Taiwan and South Korea are on the unrestricted list, so that's not a problem.

      Even if they were Tier-2 countries it likely wouldn't matter. The restriction is for the purchasing of the end-product, not a restriction on manufacturing location. From my (probably wrong) understanding, the product still counts as American even if it's produced abroad, hence why the US has jurisdiction over where they can be exported to.

      4 votes