The U.S. government is reported to be considering export restrictions on Thailand and Malaysia. The aim is to block the route through which U.S.-made artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors are smuggled into China.
Bloomberg News, citing sources, reported on the 4th (local time) that the Donald Trump administration is expected to impose restrictions on Thailand and Malaysia due to concerns over the potential diversion of advanced AI chips from Nvidia to China. This means implementing sanctions on neighboring countries to prevent the smuggling of U.S.-made AI semiconductors into China.
According to sources, the draft regulations being prepared by the U.S. Department of Commerce include such contents. The new regulatory proposal mandates obtaining a license to export AI semiconductors and allows usage only through cloud systems operated by authorized U.S. corporations or certified data centers.
The Trump administration also plans to officially lift the global AI export regulations that have been in place since the previous Joe Biden administration, instead of imposing export sanctions on Thailand and Malaysia. The U.S. Department of Commerce stated in May that the "AI rules under the Biden administration are overly complex, bureaucratic, and will hinder innovation in the U.S."
The Trump administration is expected to maintain the semiconductor regulations against China that began to be imposed in 2022 and have been strengthened several times since then, as well as regulations affecting about 40 countries that have been in effect from the following year. However, Bloomberg reported that these regulations have not yet been finalized and may be subject to change.
The U.S. government has been implementing an "AI diffusion framework" since January of this year. It is a regulation that differentiates the control of AI semiconductor exports by categorizing countries into ▲allies and partners ▲general ▲concern. Countries of concern include China, Russia, and North Korea.