Czech Republic to Push BIS for Tier 1 Status Under New AI Chip Export Controls
Companies in the Czech Republic plan to ask the Bureau of Industry and Security to loosen restrictions on U.S. exports of advanced artificial intelligence chips that were put in place as part of a BIS rule in January that tightened controls for nations around the world.
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The BIS rule groups the world into roughly three categories of countries, each of which will face different export license requirements for certain advanced chips (see 2501130026). The American Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic said the country should be in Tier 1, the group of nations that will mostly benefit from unrestricted access to certain AI technology.
The Czech Republic and other U.S. trading partners, including some in the EU, are currently grouped in the more restrictive Tier 2. The tier isn’t as restrictive as Tier 3, which covers U.S.-arms embargoed countries.
“The aim of the Czech government and AmCham is the same: the Czech Republic should become a first tier country without restrictions on the import of frontier semiconductors primarily used in sophisticated AI models,” AmCham CZ said on LinkedIn.
The organization said it has met in recent weeks with the Czech government’s trade and foreign affairs agencies, and it stressed that the government wants to “prevent the misuse of such semiconductors by malign actors, both state-controlled and private.” The government believes that “some standard for use and export therefore needs to be set and strictly enforced.”
The organization has reviewed existing Czech AI export regulations, which it said are in line with other EU member states' and the recently enacted EU AI Act and EU-wide regulations for dual-use exports.
“Therefore, any difference between Czechia and first tier countries (without restrictions on import) would be in how quickly and fully Czechia is implementing the AI Act, or rules on usage or export that EU first tier countries have enacted that set stricter rules than the AI Act or dual-use rules,” AmCham said. “We do not know of any.”
The group said it plans to submit comments to BIS to ask for “clarification” on the criteria it used to place countries in Tier 1. It also will ask BIS for more information about the “ongoing review process for assessing country's status” and will send the agency its “findings on Czechia's current regulatory status.”
The AmCham comments came days after European Parliament members criticized the U.S. restrictions for setting varying degrees of export restrictions for countries within the EU (see 2502110074). The European Commission said it plans to ask BIS to revise the rules.