Last month, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security created a mechanism to ease exports of advanced AI chips to vetted overseas data centers, but reports indicate that country-specific export license caps could be on the horizon.
Under the updated rule, data centers can apply for Validated End User (VEU) status, allowing them to receive chips — following a “rigorous review process” and after agreeing to facilitate on-site inspections and abide by new reporting requirements — under a general authorization rather than requiring suppliers to obtain individual licenses for each shipment.
While the updated rule would ease chip shipments in some cases, Bloomberg reports that country-specific chip export caps could soon be coming soon. According to the report, the Biden administration is particularly focused on managing exports to Persian Gulf countries, which have had a growing appetite for AI chips in recent years. But policymakers have become increasingly concerned that some of those Middle East-bound chips are actually destined for China, one of the primary targets of the Commerce Department’s stringent semiconductor controls.
Taken together, the updated VEU process and the rumored country-specific caps appear to be an attempt to thread the needle: maintaining the lucrative flow of high-end chips while ensuring they don’t end up in the wrong hands.
This newsletter excerpt is from the October 17, 2024, edition of policy.ai — CSET’s newsletter on artificial intelligence, emerging technology, and security policy, written by Alex Friedland. Other stories from this edition include:
- Governor Newsom Vetoes Sweeping AI Regulation, SB 1047
- OpenAI Raises $6.6 Billion — But Departures Point to Difficult Transition
- Tech Giants Tap Nuclear Power for Their AI Data Centers
- DOD Announces Replicator 2 — Counter-Drone Defenses the Focus
- FTC Cracks Down on AI Over-Promising
- OMB Issues Guidance on Responsible AI Acquisition
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