The U.S. government could face a host of challenges if it tries to place export controls on AI models to protect national security, the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) said in an article last week.
The Treasury Department issued a pre-publication version of the final regulations for its outbound investment program, which will set new prohibitions and notification requirements to limit certain U.S. business activities in the semiconductor, artificial intelligence and quantum sectors of mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau beginning Jan. 2. The final rule, released Oct. 28, adopts many of the regulations proposed by the agency earlier this year along with a host of notable tweaks, clarifications and refinements, including a more detailed description for the rules’ AI investment threshold, insight into the agency’s due diligence expectations for U.S. companies and updates to the scope of exempt transactions.
The White House this week issued a memorandum on advancing U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence, directing federal agencies to take “concrete and impactful steps” to make sure the U.S. remains at the forefront of AI development and that the technology helps instead of harms national security. The memo calls on the Commerce Department, the State Department, the Office of Science and Technology Policy and other agencies to “improve the security and diversity of chip supply chains,” according to a fact sheet, and to protect advanced AI technologies from foreign theft.
While the Biden and Trump administrations both frequently imposed financial sanctions and export controls on China, the Biden administration has made greater use of two key tools: the Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List and the Commerce Department’s Entity List. That's according to a new report by the Center for a New American Security (CNAS).
The Commerce Department declined to say whether it’s investigating Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company for a possible breach of export controls against Huawei but is aware of public reporting about the issue, an agency spokesperson said Oct. 24.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company recently spoke with Commerce Department about a possible export control issue involving one of its advanced chips, a company spokepserson said. TSMC "proactively communicated with the US Commerce Department regarding the matter," the person said Oct. 23. "We are not aware of TSMC being the subject of any investigation at this time."
The Biden administration believes it has struck the right balance in managing technology trade with competitors such as China, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Oct. 23.
With the United States and the EU both preparing to increase their scrutiny of outbound investment, the two parties should closely coordinate their efforts to achieve the best possible outcome, a Germany-based researcher said Oct. 22.
New export controls over U.S. persons’ support for certain foreign military, intelligence and security services activities would place too much strain on both the government and industry compliance departments, disadvantage American exporters compared with their foreign competitors, and may provide no clear benefit to U.S. national security, companies and trade groups told the Bureau of Industry and Security.
The leaders of the House Select Committee on China urged the Commerce Department Oct. 16 to restrict exports of U.S.-made semiconductor manufacturing equipment (SME) to Huawei's “clandestine network” of companies.