go throughAbout a week's worth of rumors, the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) officially revoked the Biden administration’s artificial intelligence proliferation rules just days before they were set to take effect. "Artificial Intelligence Proliferation Rules"Introduced by former U.S. President Joe Biden in January this year, which will take effect on May 15, imposes export restrictions on U.S.-made artificial intelligence chips to many countries for the first time while strengthening existing restrictions.
On Tuesday, the Commerce Department announced it was directing staff not to enforce the Biden-era rule. According to Bloomberg, the U.S. Commerce Department plans to issue an alternative rule in the future, which may focus on direct negotiations with countries rather than one-size-fits-all restrictions.
Biden's proposed rules would divide countries around the world into three tiers, each with its own level of restrictions. Tier 1 countries such as Japan and South Korea will continue to be exempt from export restrictions, while tier 2 countries such as Mexico and Portugal will be subject to chip export restrictions for the first time. Tier 3 countries such as China and Russia will have to deal with tighter controls.
The Commerce Department on Tuesday issued some industry guidance in lieu of the new regulations. The guidance reminds companies that using Huawei's Ascend artificial intelligence chips anywhere in the world violates U.S. export regulations, warns of the potential consequences of allowing U.S. artificial intelligence chips to be used to train artificial intelligence models in China, and proposes some ways to protect the chip supply chain from diversion strategies.
"The Trump administration will work with trusted nations around the world to pursue a bold, inclusive U.S. strategy for artificial intelligence technology while ensuring that the technology does not fall into the hands of our adversaries," U.S. Department of Commerce Industry and Security Secretary Jeffrey Kessler said in a statement. "At the same time, we oppose the Biden administration's attempts to impose its own misguided and counterproductive artificial intelligence policies on the American people."