According to Bloomberg, the White House plans to scrap rules that currently bar the shipment of high-performance chips to China, citing national security concerns.
The Trump administration plans to revise restrictions on GPU exports to certain countries and regions, aiming to prevent high-end chips from being resold to blacklisted nations via intermediaries — a tactic reminiscent of how the Soviet Union acquired US semiconductors during the Cold War.
The proposed changes could benefit countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which have poured billions into digital infrastructure but remain unable to access advanced chips needed to power new data centres.
Instead of imposing blanket caps on a fixed list of countries, the revised rules would reportedly involve the US negotiating chip export levels directly with select nations.
Bloomberg suggests the changes could be announced ahead of President Donald Trump’s trip to the Middle East next week.
Unlike the Biden-era CHIPS Act, which Trump has vowed to scrap, calling it a “horrible, horrible thing,” the administration appears intent on keeping, and even tightening, export restrictions on semiconductors.
Beyond existing bans, the White House is also considering new curbs on countries suspected of diverting chips to China, with Malaysia and Thailand reportedly under scrutiny.
The government has also cracked down on firms like Nvidia that attempted to offset the loss of the Chinese market by offering lower-powered chips.
Nvidia was effectively barred from shipping its H20 GPU to China after the Commerce Department required a specific export license for the model.
However, Reuters reported that Nvidia is now exploring the development of a further downgraded version to bypass the restrictions.
Beyond semiconductors, the Biden-era export rules also cover equipment and software tools that could be used in semiconductor manufacturing.
The Commerce Department tightened those rules in December to cover equipment that could be used to make high-bandwidth memory units.
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