The United States Department of Commerce has issued a new directive warning that the global use of Huawei’s Ascend artificial intelligence (AI) chips constitutes a breach of US export regulations.
The move is part of broader efforts to curtail China’s technological progress, according to a report by Bloomberg published on 14 May 2025.
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), a division of the Department of Commerce, underscored that deploying Huawei’s AI chips anywhere in the world is considered a violation of US export controls. The Bureau also indicated that it would begin issuing public advisories to raise awareness of the potential consequences of using US-designed AI chips in the development and deployment of Chinese language models.
These new measures are expected to further disrupt Huawei’s strategic aims in AI chip design and smartphone innovation. The Chinese technology company has already faced considerable challenges in these areas due to previous rounds of US sanctions.
In a parallel development, the Department of Commerce announced its intention to reassess and potentially withdraw a set of semiconductor export restrictions introduced under President Joe Biden. These controls, initially aimed at preventing China and other states of concern from acquiring advanced AI hardware, have drawn criticism from various quarters, including US allies and major technology firms such as NVIDIA and Oracle.
According to the Department, the rules introduced by the Biden administration risked “damaging US diplomatic ties with dozens of nations by relegating them to secondary status.” A formal statement detailing the withdrawal of the export restrictions is expected to be published in due course.
Sources familiar with the matter indicated that the Trump administration is currently developing its own framework for AI export policy. One option under consideration is negotiating bespoke agreements with individual countries, rather than applying blanket restrictions.
Despite the rollback of the Biden-era framework, the Department emphasised that the overarching strategy will remain one of cautious cooperation. The aim is to establish a “bold and inclusive strategy for American AI technology” in collaboration with trusted foreign partners, while ensuring that advanced technology remains inaccessible to geopolitical adversaries.
Under the previous structure introduced by the Biden administration, the world was divided into three tiers of access to US-origin AI chips:
Tier 1 comprised seventeen nations along with Taiwan. These were allowed unrestricted access to US AI semiconductors.
Tier 2, including around 120 countries, faced quantitative limits on AI chip imports.
Tier 3 featured states identified as posing significant security concerns—namely China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. These countries were barred entirely from acquiring US AI chips.
The recent guidance concerning Huawei reinforces the United States’ hardline stance against what it deems unauthorised access to advanced AI technologies by companies with ties to China’s strategic industries. The Commerce Department’s statement reiterated that even as the export framework evolves, safeguarding American technology from adversarial states remains the principal objective.
Read also:
Chinese Shoppers Rethink American Brands Amid Rising Tariffs
