According to three people familiar with the situation, the Trump administration is attempting to modify a Biden-era regulation that would restrict access to AI chips worldwide, potentially eliminating its division of the world into tiers that aid in determining how many modern semiconductors a nation can acquire.
The sources cautioned that the plans could alter and stated that they were still being discussed. However, if implemented, eliminating the tiers may make it possible to use American chips as an even more potent negotiating weapon in trade negotiations.
The goal of the January legislation is to regulate specific model weights and distribute access to the most cutting-edge AI chips so that the most advanced computer power remains in the United States and its allies and is not transferred to China or nations that are of concern.
The rule, known as the Framework for AI Diffusion, was released by the U.S. Department of Commerce in January, one week prior to the conclusion of former President Joe Biden's administration. Beginning on May 15, businesses are required to abide by its regulations. However, according to the sources, officials in the Trump administration are considering doing away with the rule's tiered access system and substituting a worldwide licensing system with government-to-government agreements.
According to one of the sources, such a framework would probably be in line with President Donald Trump's larger trade strategy of striking agreements with specific nations. The United States may then more easily use access to chips made in the United States as leverage in subsequent discussions. At a March conference, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stated that he wanted to include export controls into trade negotiations.
According to one post on X, the Trump administration is thinking of lowering the cutoff orders to an imitation of 500 H100 chips. A Commerce Department official declined to comment. A request for information was not immediately answered by a White House official.
Although officials in the Trump administration have stated for months that they want to make the regulation "stronger but simpler," at least some experts think that doing away with the tiers will make the rule more complex.
The tiers did not make sense, according to Ken Glueck, executive vice president at Oracle (ORCL.N), who opened a new tab, who also pointed out that Yemen and Israel were both in the second category.
