Liza Lin and Alexander Ward of The Wall Street Journal report that tensions are rising over a Biden administration plan to limit AI chip exports to prevent China from gaining access to the technology. While some criticize the plan, others support it as essential to countering China’s goals. New export controls are expected soon. They write:
Tension between national-security hawks and the biggest American technology companies over China policy has burst out into the open.
The trigger: a Biden administration plan to limit the global sale of advanced artificial-intelligence chips. It seeks to ensure the U.S. keeps control over the future of AI by blocking Beijing from accessing AI technology through third countries.
The plan drops the “mother of all regulations” and “does more to achieve extreme regulatory overreach than protect U.S. interests,” said an Oracle executive vice president, Ken Glueck, in a blog post. On the other side, a Republican-led House committee urged the administration to go through with tough curbs, calling it a “once-in-a-generation moment” to block Beijing’s ambitions. […]
The gloves came off this week because of anticipation that the Commerce Department would imminently introduce a global export license regime for graphics processing units—the type of chip critical to AI applications—and set sales caps for certain countries. The goal would be to close off loopholes that otherwise could allow China to access AI chips by tapping data centers in regions such as Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
While Commerce hasn’t detailed its plans publicly, drafts of the rule have circulated in Washington, industry officials said. […]
Trump’s personnel picks, including incoming national security adviser Michael Waltz, are known for their tough views on China. Jacob Helberg, Trump’s choice as the State Department’s top economic policy and trade official, is a founder of a consortium of tech investors and lawmakers concerned about the rise of China.
“The American people elected President Trump to stand up to China, enforce tariffs on Chinese goods, and Make America Strong Again. He will deliver,” said Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for the incoming administration, in an email.
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