A technology industry group on Tuesday urged President Joe Biden’s administration to hold off on issuing a last-minute rule to regulate global access to AI chips, warning that such restrictions could undermine U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence.
The Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), which represents companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta, argued that the proposed rule—expected as early as Friday—would impose arbitrary limits on U.S. companies’ ability to sell computing systems internationally, potentially ceding the global market to foreign competitors.
District TV previously reported exclusive details about the Commerce Department’s plans to approve global AI chip exports while preventing their misuse by adversaries. The restrictions aim to block AI technologies from enhancing China’s military capabilities.
In a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, ITI CEO Jason Oxman criticized the administration’s push to finalize the rule during the final days of Biden’s presidency. Donald Trump is set to be inaugurated on January 20.
“Rushing a consequential and complex rule to completion could lead to significant adverse consequences,” ITI CEO Jason Oxman warned in a letter dated Jan. 7, obtained by Reuters.
While expressing appreciation for the administration’s commitment to national security, the letter emphasized, “The potential risks to U.S. global leadership in AI are real and should be taken seriously.”
The group urged the administration to consider issuing the controls as proposed rulemaking instead of a finalized rule, citing the significant geopolitical and economic implications. Neither the Commerce Department nor the White House responded immediately to requests for comment.
Industry opposition to the anticipated rule has grown increasingly vocal and public. The Semiconductor Industry Association released a statement on Monday evening, and Ken Glueck, Oracle’s executive vice president, criticized the draft rule in a blog post on Sunday.
Glueck argued that the proposed regulation, titled “Export Control Framework for Artificial Intelligence Diffusion,” does not narrowly target concerning activities. Instead, he said it imposes sweeping restrictions on the commercial cloud industry, “regulating nearly all commercial cloud computing globally for the first time in history.” He described it as “one of the most destructive measures ever to hit the U.S. technology industry.”
