EU Officials Call on US to Reverse AI Chip Export Controls

Henna Virkkunen, the European Commission’s technology security chief, told Parliament members during a Feb. 11 plenary that the commission plans to urge the Trump administration to revise the controls. The AI diffusion rule, published in the final days of the Biden administration, “would lead to a two-speed Europe when it comes to AI services,” Virkkunen said, referencing the fact that the controls set varying degrees of export restrictions, depending on the importing country, including within the EU.

“We cannot accept this,” she said.

Virkkunen added that the commission is “still evaluating the impact” of the controls, but it’s clear they pose “potential risks” to European companies. “We will use all diplomatic means to request that the U.S. treat the EU in a non-discriminatory way,” Virkkunen said. “We believe that lifting the restrictions would benefit both the EU and the U.S.A.”

The rules -- which also received broad pushback from the American technology industry -- group the world into roughly three categories of countries, each of which will face different export license requirements for certain advanced chips (see 2501130026). Researchers have noted the framework leaves out important allies from Tier 1 -- the group of nations that will mostly benefit from unrestricted access to certain AI technology -- including EU member states such as Latvia and Estonia (see 2501230043).

Aura Salla, a Parliament member from Finland, said the controls will “stifle innovation” throughout Europe. “The only winner from U.S. export restrictions towards its allies is China,” she said through a Parliament translator.

Salla also suggested EU member states may not comply with the rules, especially for controlled chips that have already entered the EU market. “If the restrictions are directly towards only some EU countries, moving chips around the EU is not a problem for us,” Salla said. “We Europeans will stick together.”

Marc Botenga of Belgium said the controls show the U.S. is acting “thuggish” and “harassing the rest of the world.” He said the U.S. is trying to make Europe “entirely dependent” on American advanced chips, including by trying to convince EU companies not to buy from China.

“First they come to Europe and they say … we shouldn't do any business with China. And then, bearing in mind that we're lagging behind in terms of technology, they say, ‘Well, actually, the semiconductors that you will need for your cars, for your defense? Well, we're not going to allow you to have them,’” Botenga said through a translator. “They are undermining our industry, our economy. It's not an ally, it's a thug.”

Several members said they fear the EU has become too reliant on imports of semiconductors, and that the bloc needs to double down on investments in its own chip industry while diversifying its supply chains. Paulo Cunha of Portugal said the EU’s dependence on U.S. and other foreign chips is a “clear threat” to the EU’s automobile and renewable energy sectors.

Other members urged the commission to try to strike a deal with the U.S. that removes the export controls while restarting talks on trade issues at the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council.

Paulius Saudargas of Lithuania said the EU “cannot allow this dependency to be used as a tool to divide us.” He said the U.S. and the EU should be working together to counter their common “enemies and threats,” specifically naming Russia and China.

“The U.S. should target China in alliance with the EU, rather than open several front lines with transatlantic allies,” Saudargas said. “If the U.S. truly views Europe as a trusted partner, it should work with us to strengthen transatlantic AI cooperation, not create artificial barriers within our own borders.”

Virkkunen, the commission’s executive vice president for technological sovereignty, security and democracy, said at the end of the discussion that EU lawmakers are clearly “united” about pushing back against the U.S. export controls. She stressed that the commission is monitoring the restrictions’ potential medium- to long-term impact on the bloc’s high-performance computing and AI industries, including the data centers that rely on advanced AI chips.

“I think it's very important that we are united and we are defending our European competitiveness together,” Virkkunen said. “And we should now convey the same message to the U.S.A. regardless of member states, because it's very important that we are all defending our single market.”