By Stephen Nellis
SAN FRANCISCO, July 23 (Reuters)
The Trump administration’s latest plans for AI chip technology present a solution that combines national security concerns with the need and advantages of increasing the United States’ technological influence internationally. The plan aims to strengthen partnerships with allies, facilitating access to developed AI technologies while simultaneously increasing export controls to adversarial nations.
Bipartisan support for AI chip location verification
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday recommended implementing export controls that would verify the location of advanced artificial intelligence chips, a move that was applauded by U.S. lawmakers from both parties in both houses of Congress. The recommendation was part of a broader AI blueprint released on Wednesday that aimed to boost exports of AI hardware and software to U.S. allies and relax U.S. environmental rules to speed the construction of new AI data centers.
But the plan released Wednesday also said the U.S. should continue denying access to advanced U.S. AI chips made by companies like Nvidia NVDA.O and AMD AMD.O to foreign adversaries. It added that the U.S. government should “explore leveraging new and existing location verification features on advanced AI compute to ensure that the chips are not in countries of concern.”
The recommendation drew support from two lawmakers who previously introduced bills that would require location verification of chips after sale over concerns that they are finding their way to countries such as China, where their export is banned. Key details – such as how the technology would be implemented and how much cost it would add – remain to be worked out, both in the proposed bills and the Trump administration’s recommendations.
Lawmakers highlight alignment with Trump’s AI action plan
“I was encouraged to see that the recommended export control policy includes location verification mechanisms and aligns closely with our bipartisan Chip Security Act. I look forward to learning more of the technical details and next steps for end-use verification,” Representative Bill Foster, an Illinois Democrat who helped introduce a chip-location bill in May, told Reuters.
This statement demonstrates that this AI chip action plan has overcome even existing partisan differences, uniting them in common agreement on national security issues with a parallel approach to innovation and technological advancement. Foster’s comment also reflects a legislative trend that prioritizes safeguarding some critical technologies from misuse without harming domestic AI development.
“Senator Cotton was pleased to see verification included in President Trump’s AI Action Plan, as it’s a vital part of his bipartisan, bicameral Chip Security Act and an important tool to keep advanced American technology out of the hands of Communist China,” said Patrick McCann, a spokesperson for Senator Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican who introduced a similar bill in the U.S. Senate.
Balance between security, innovation, and global AI competition
Although the plan is not yet 100% defined, its intentions send a clear message that the United States seeks to increase collaborative relations with its allies and at the same time also increase the level of control over relations with technological and political adversaries, , which has a direct impact on the definition of export policies in a world where competition for AI technology is increasingly competitive. By leveraging location verification and reinforcing legal safeguards, the U.S. aims to secure its technological edge without alienating key global markets.
In conclusion, Trump’s AI chip export strategy reflects a calculated effort to balance innovation with national security in an increasingly contested technological landscape. By intertwining legislative proposals with executive action, the administration is building a framework designed to protect critical AI assets while preserving America’s leadership in the sector. However, the plan’s success will depend on practical implementation, international cooperation, and the ability to mitigate unintended consequences in global trade dynamics.
GCN.com/Reuters