In the News: US Reinforces Chip Export Controls; Brokers' Offshore Trading Ban; and Court Denies Crypto Lending

Credit: Raimundas/Adobe Stock 

U.S. Further Restricts Exports of Chips to China

The U.S. is tightening export controls for cutting-edge artificial intelligence chips to restrict China's access to advanced semiconductors and chipmaking gear. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the update will curb China's access to advanced chips that "could fuel breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and sophisticated computers" that are critical for the Chinese military. The U.S. Commerce Department extended the sweeping export controls that were first introduced in October 2022. Under that rule, the U.S. banned exports of chips that exceeded two thresholds: one for power and the other for the speed at which chips talk to each other. The Commerce Department is replacing the latter with a "performance density" measure that is explicitly designed to stop companies from finding workaround solutions.

This update to existing rules will severely limit the ability of Nvidia and other manufacturers to sell high-performance semiconductors to China. The U.S. will also impose additional checks on Chinese firms attempting to evade export restrictions by routing shipments through other nations. The updated rules also expand the list of chipmaking tools that cannot be sold to China. The U.S. would also add two Chinese groups to the "entity list," making it extremely hard for them to get U.S. technology. These two groups were involved in the design of chips that undermine U.S. national security, the U.S. said.