U.S. Commerce Department Tightens AI Chip License Rules for China-Headquartered Firms Abroad
The bureau said the rule still applies to China-headquartered firms abroad, while leaving data centers free to keep using existing chips.
- On Sunday, the U.S. Commerce Department moved to close a year-old loophole that allowed companies to export advanced semiconductors, including Nvidia's Rubin and Blackwell processors and AMD's MI350x, to Chinese-headquartered entities located outside China.
- This regulatory gap emerged in May 2025 when the department opted not to enforce the AI Diffusion rule, a policy established during the final days of the Biden administration to govern global access to AI chips.
- Chris McGuire, a Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow, called the oversight a "HUGE problem," noting Chinese companies likely purchased chips at scale. One industry source estimated hundreds of thousands of units were exported during the year-long period.
- New guidance now enforces license requirements for advanced chips to entities headquartered in China, regardless of their global location. However, the directive does not mandate that existing data centers cease using or servicing equipment already deployed.
- While this clarification renders Blackwell shipments to these subsidiaries illegal, the extent of damage remains unclear. Nvidia reported that over 20% of its fiscal year 2026 compute revenue was still derived from China through intermediaries, underscoring ongoing market complexity.
56 Articles
56 Articles
The US government wants to close a loophole in export restrictions for deliveries of sophisticated chips to China.
US moves to close potential AI chip sales loophole
The Trump administration is moving to close a potential loophole in U.S. export restrictions, clarifying that a license is needed to sell advanced AI chips to firms with Chinese parent companies even if they are not located in China or another restricted country. The Commerce Department on Sunday issued new guidance about a 2023 licensing…
US export curbs push China's AI chips away from GPUs to custom ASICs
China’s AI chip industry is no longer trying to build an Nvidia clone. Under sustained US export controls that block access to the most powerful general-purpose GPUs, the country’s largest technology companies are pivoting toward application-specific integrated circuits, custom chips designed to do one thing extremely well rather than handle any workload. The shift is […] This story continues at The Next Web
US Moves to Restrict China’s Access to Advanced AI Chips
The U.S. Department of Commerce has issued new guidance to prevent Chinese companies from obtaining advanced U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) chips, such as Nvidia’s most sophisticated Blackwell processors, through overseas subsidiaries. The May 31 guidance clarifies that export licenses are required for entities headquartered in China or Macau, regardless of where their affiliates are located. The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry …
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