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Washington sets collision course with China over control of global chip market

Enrique Dans
Enrique Dans
Published in
3 min readJan 14, 2025
IMAGE: A world map with chips and circuits, and a line of ant-looking chips moving in line

The outgoing US government has announced a radical plan to limit exports of advanced chips and AI models to prevent them from reaching what it considers adversaries, principally China, along with North Korea, Iran and Russia. A list of “trusted” nations: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Taiwan will continue to be able to buy US chips.

The Regulatory Framework for the Responsible Diffusion of Advanced Artificial Intelligence Technology was immediately condemned by Nvidia in a blog post saying that that the new rules will only further weaken US global competitiveness, and saying that they can’t wait for the new government. The new rules will now enter a consultation period of 120 days during which the new administration formed by Donald Trump will consider them, make any changes it sees fit, and implement them. Shares of Nvidia and other AI-related companies have declined, also dragging down the rest of the NASDAQ.

Companies in countries not subject to US arms controls or sanctions will be able to obtain up to 1,700 of the most advanced AI chips without the need for special permits, and apply if they wish for a special license to acquire more chips. They will also be…

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Enrique Dans
Enrique Dans

Published in Enrique Dans

On the effects of technology and innovation on people, companies and society (writing in Spanish at enriquedans.com since 2003)

Enrique Dans
Enrique Dans

Written by Enrique Dans

Professor of Innovation at IE Business School and blogger (in English here and in Spanish at enriquedans.com)

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