Nvidia says Biden’s new chip restrictions will ‘harm’ the economy and set the U.S. back
In This Story
The Biden administration’s anticipated chip restrictions are being criticized by chip leader Nvidia (NVDA-2.82%).
President Joe Biden’s last round of chip export controls would curb the sale of artificial intelligence chips from U.S. firms such as Nvidia to specific countries and companies, Bloomberg reported. The rules, which are expected days before Biden leaves office, aim to support AI development among U.S. allies and promote U.S. standards globally, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.
“The extreme ‘country cap’ policy will affect mainstream computers in countries around the world, doing nothing to promote national security but rather pushing the world to alternative technologies,” Ned Finkle, vice president of government affairs at Nvidia, said in a statement shared with Bloomberg.
Finkle said the export controls are being “disguised as an anti-China move,” and that “[i]t makes no sense for the Biden White House to control everyday data-center computers and technology that is already in gaming PCs worldwide.”
The new export controls will reportedly include three tiers of chip restrictions, which give friendly nations full access to U.S.-made chips but add new limitations to others, such as how much computing power a nation can receive. Companies in nations facing limits can reportedly bypass them and receive a higher cap with a validated end-user designation, which has security and human rights standards requirements set by the U.S. Countries deemed as adversaries will not be allowed to import semiconductors under the new rules.
“This last-minute Biden administration policy would be a legacy that will be criticized by U.S. industry and the global community,” Finkle said. “We would encourage President Biden to not preempt incoming President Trump by enacting a policy that will only harm the U.S. economy, set America back, and play into the hands of US adversaries.”
Meanwhile, Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang said earlier this week that he’s ready to meet with the incoming Trump administration to help with AI policy.
“I’d be delighted to go see him and congratulate him, and do whatever we can to make this administration succeed,” Huang told Bloomberg Television about Donald Trump. He added that he has not yet been invited to meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago.
Nvidia’s shares were down by around 2.7% during Friday morning trading. Earlier in the week, Huang made several announcements about the chipmaker’s AI and robotics efforts during his keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show.
