Brussels – The EU is “concerned” about the Biden administration’s decision, just days before the end of its term, to restrict export access to advanced artificial intelligence chips for over 120 countries, including some EU member states and their companies. Brussels’ sharp reaction to the new clampdown coming from the US comes in the words of European Commission Executive Vice President Henna Virkkunen and EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič: “We represent an economic opportunity for the US, not a security risk,” the two say in a joint statement.
The crackdown announced yesterday (Jan. 13) by the White House will go into effect in a year, with the principal goal of limiting the technological rise of China as well as Russia, Iran, and North Korea. The “quartet of chaos” is the small group of countries subject to Washington’s total blockade of the most sophisticated technologies produced by Nvidia Corp, AMD, Microsoft, and other companies. A move that Beijing immediately called a “flagrant violation of international trade rules.” However, excluding the 18 closest US allies, export restrictions on critical technologies affect about 120 countries.
The unrestricted allies club includes ten EU countries. It comprises Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom. For the others, the White House will impose a national cap on how much computing power can be exported from US soil. Companies in these countries can circumvent these limits only by demonstrating compliance with US-imposed security and human rights standards. “The US is leading AI now, both in development and chip design, and it is essential that this remains unchanged,” said US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. US companies producing and exporting advanced AI technology will be required to comply with strict conditions regarding transparency, reporting, and security. Global vendors such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft, in particular, will not be allowed to distribute over 50 percent of their total computing power outside the United States. Washington has given itself 120 days to gather feedback from industry and global partners, leaving the door open to possible adjustments. Moreover, the new White House tenant, Donald Trump, could reconsider the terms of this last-minute move by the Biden administration.
Virkkunen and Šefčovič address in particular the New York tycoon. “We look forward to engaging constructively with the next US administration,” the EU memo reads, “are confident that we can find a way to maintain a secure transatlantic supply chain on AI technology and supercomputers.”
In September 2023, Brussels launched the European Chips Act to ensure semiconductor supplies to member countries. The initiative should mobilize 43 billion euros in public and private investment, including 3.3 billion from the EU budget, by 2030. The goal is to double the EU’s global market share in semiconductors from 10 percent to at least 20 percent. In the chips race, however, the EU cannot afford to cut the umbilical cord with the US market unless it increases further the dangerous dependence on China. Brussels emphasizes this point with its transatlantic ally: “We believe it is also in the US economic and security interest that the EU buys advanced AI chips from the US without limitations,” they stress from the European Commission.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
