Thomas Krueger Discusses New Export Controls of AI Chips with Media

Akin international trade senior policy advisor Thomas Kruger was quoted by Law360, Reuters and Politico regarding new regulations from the U.S. Department of Commerce that would further restrict exports of artificial intelligence chips to China.

"The organizing principle for all these rules is to keep them focused on those capabilities that can enable Chinese military systems,” Thomas told Reuters. “They're not interested in going after broad consumer applications. They're really trying to thread that needle."

In Politico, Thomas said, “This rule extended U.S. extraterritorial controls on certain tools that the other countries did not control on their respective lists. Given that the Biden administration prioritizes cooperation with allies, it is safe to assume that the new rule was agreed to by both the Dutch and Japanese.”

For Law360, Thomas noted that Commerce removed controls on pieces of equipment that come into play only after a chip has been produced given the large scale of the ecosystem. He added, “By narrowly focusing on the front-end stuff, they're really getting at that real meat of what actually makes an advanced chip.”