The Trump administration has intensified its campaign against Chinese technological advancements, warning that using Huawei’s AI chips worldwide may violate U.S. export control laws.
On Tuesday, the Department of Commerce clarified that Huawei’s Ascend series, particularly the 910B, 910C, and 910D chips, will likely be built with technologies of American origin or software, violating U.S. export regulations.
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) declared that it was providing formal guidance instead of introducing a new rule. The clarification says that only the use of Huawei-developed advanced chips without regard to the user’s location may provoke enforcement. According to export lawyer Kevin Wolf, this guidance confirms an established interpretation of laws on export.
“The guidance is not a new control, but rather a public confirmation of an interpretation that even the mere use anywhere by anyone of a Huawei-designed advanced computing [integrated circuit] would violate export control rules.”
Export lawyer Wolf
Huawei chips under scrutiny as market power grows
The Ascend chips have come into the limelight following the recent advances that Huawei has made regarding artificial intelligence. Despite being cut off from American suppliers such as Nvidia, the Chinese tech company has designed AI chip clusters superior to Nvidia equivalents in computing and memory if used in large numbers. Although not as powerful individually, Huawei’s 910C chips are now at the core of new AI clusters distributed throughout China.
Even though Huawei is on a U.S. export blacklist, the company is increasing its chip production capacity in China. It is quickly developing domestic semiconductor lines in response to skyrocketing demand from companies trapped without access to Nvidia’s superior chips.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang recently acknowledged Huawei’s competitive strength, calling it “one of the most formidable technology companies in the world.” He requested that Washington develop policies that would help U.S. companies in the global tech race instead of depending on punitive measures.
The same day the bureau issued its Huawei chip guidance, it also repealed the Biden-era AI Diffusion Rule. That rule was intended to restrict U.S. companies’ export of AI chips to foreign parties, most notably those in China. The Trump administration said the regulation was too bureaucratic and planned to roll out a simplified version.
The rollback came at the heels of Trump’s high-profile trip to Saudi Arabia. While on the trip, the kingdom’s newly-formed state-backed AI company, Humain, pledged to construct infrastructure based on Nvidia’s hundreds of thousands of chips.
Tariff truce calms broader U.S.-China trade tensions
The restriction on AI chip use comes amid a general warming in trade relations between the U.S. and China. The two countries reached an agreement in Switzerland to slash import tariffs and freeze some tariffs for 90 days, an unusual de-escalation of what had become a full-blown trade war.
In the agreement, U.S. tariffs for Chinese goods fell from 145% to 30%, and Chinese retaliatory measures declined from 125% to 10%. Beijing also eliminated some non-tariff barriers, such as halts on critical mineral exports. Talks are ongoing with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, saying both sides have agreed to avoid economic decoupling.
Despite this, the U.S. has maintained an additional 20% tariff to reduce China’s influx in the illegal fentanyl trade. American authorities have indicated they will maintain export control on critical technology as they soften the trade terms for other goods.
Donald Trump lauded the talks as a “total reset” of the bilateral relationship. However, China’s comments made it clear that Beijing was still raging and pointing to the U.S. as enforcing economic hellfire.
After meeting Latin American leaders in Beijing on Tuesday, Xi said, “There were no winners in tariff wars or trade wars.” He added, “Bullying and hegemony will only lead to self-isolation,” and he was referring to the U.S.
