Trump Administration Working on AI Rule to Curb China’s Remote Access to Chips

Soon after President Donald Trump began his second term in office in 2025, the White House announced it would undo export controls the Biden administration had imposed on advanced AI chips to slow the technical progress of geopolitical rivals like China. In recent weeks, a small group within the Department of Commerce has been working on a slimmed-down replacement for the Biden-era provision, known as the AI diffusion rule, according to four people familiar with the matter.

The new rule from the Trump administration will likely attempt to close a glaring loophole in existing export control policies, according to two of those people: the ability of Chinese AI firms to access advanced chips remotely through data centers abroad in countries including Thailand and Singapore. The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security is working on the new rule, which it could share with AI companies and industry trade groups for feedback as early as September, one of the people said.