China criticized new U.S. export controls over certain advanced AI chips released this week (see 2501130026) and announced its own set of export restrictions on American firms the next day, adding seven defense contractors to its so-called unreliable entity list.
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The Bureau of Industry and Security is planning to release two new rules Jan. 15, Undersecretary Alan Estevez said during a Jan. 14 event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “One will be related to biotech,” and the other is “related to compliance around semiconductors,” Estevez said. He didn't give further details. A BIS spokesperson said the agency has "nothing else to add beyond Estevez’s remarks."
Outgoing Bureau of Industry and Security Undersecretary Alan Estevez said he would advise his successor to continue coordinating export controls with allies and to not immediately turn to extraterritorial restrictions, such as the foreign direct product rule.
Many signs are pointing toward the incoming Trump administration embracing the new sweeping U.S. export controls on AI chips, an AI technology policy researcher said this week.
The Bureau of Industry and Security released four new rules Jan. 15, including one that will make more changes to its semiconductor-related export controls -- including by creating a new list of trusted chip designers and service providers -- another rule that will place new controls on certain biotechnology equipment and technology, and two rules that will add companies to the Entity List.
A new Bureau of Industry and Security rule that will place new, worldwide export controls on advanced computing chips and certain closed artificial intelligence model weights was widely panned by the American semiconductor and technology industry this week, even as U.S. officials said the restrictions are necessary to keep American companies ahead of their Chinese competitors.
A new Bureau of Industry and Security rule released Jan. 13 will place new, worldwide export controls on advanced computing chips and certain closed artificial intelligence model weights, capping the number of AI chips that can be sent to most countries while introducing an exception for a group of allies that the Biden administration said already have strong AI technology protection rules. The 168-page interim final rule also creates new license exceptions for certain supply chain activities and low-volume shipments of powerful chips -- except for China, Russia and other U.S.-embargoed countries -- and updates the agency’s validated end-user program (VEU) to lift certain licensing requirements for certain data centers that meet stringent new security conditions.
The Biden administration’s upcoming AI chip-related export controls likely will upset key U.S. allies, especially the EU, by reinforcing the notion that the U.S. relies too heavily on extraterritorial controls and is “hellbent” on maintaining American technology leadership, the Center for European Policy Analysis said this week.
ASML, the major Dutch semiconductor tooling firm, is being accused of misleading investors about how its projected China sales and revenues were impacted by recently imposed export controls.