Policy discussions around global access to artificial intelligence hardware continue to evolve in the United States. The United States Department of Commerce has withdrawn a proposed rule related to exports of AI chips, marking another shift in the government’s approach to managing advanced technology exports.
The draft regulation had been circulated to other government agencies for feedback late last month. It was intended to replace a regulation introduced in Jan 2025 during the administration of Joe Biden that addressed global access to AI chips.
A notice for the rule, titled “AI Action Plan Implementation”, appeared on the website of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on Feb 26, indicating that the proposal was under review. However, the listing was later removed.
A US official said the document was still at a preliminary stage. “This supposed rule was always a draft and remains a draft,” the official said. “All discussions that were previously reported were preliminary.”
Earlier, the administration of Donald Trump had signalled plans to replace the Biden-era regulation with a simpler framework designed to strengthen the global leadership of American artificial intelligence technology. However, no new rule has been formally introduced so far.
According to a draft document reviewed by a news agency, the proposed policy considered requiring foreign governments to invest in US data centres or provide security guarantees if they wanted access to large volumes of advanced chips.
The document suggested that countries requesting exports of 200000 or more AI chips could be asked to commit investments in US data centres or offer security assurances. Foreign firms seeking up to 100000 chips might have needed government-to-government guarantees.
The proposal differed significantly from the earlier framework introduced under Biden. That system divided countries into 3 groups: close allies allowed unlimited access to chips, many other countries allowed limited quantities, and certain nations restricted from receiving advanced chips due to security concerns.
A former government official said the decision to withdraw the draft rule likely reflects internal differences over how to balance national security concerns with the goal of maintaining US leadership in artificial intelligence.
The Commerce Department earlier stated on social media that it remains “committed to promoting secure exports of the American tech stack.” Officials also confirmed ongoing discussions about policies similar to agreements that allowed chip exports to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in exchange for investments in the United States.
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