The Biden administration plans to tighten export controls announced in October to restrict sales of some artificial-intelligence chips to China, amid growing concerns about selling the technology to a key strategic competitor, people familiar with the matter said.
Under the Commerce Department proposal, expected in July, the US would revise export controls announced in October to make it harder to sell some chips to China without a license. The move is aimed in part at Nvidia Corp.’s A800 chip, which the US-based company designed after the earlier controls were announced and came just within their limits.
The Commerce Department and Nvidia declined to comment. Plans for the tighter controls were reported earlier by the Wall Street Journal.
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The move highlights the Biden administration’s determination to contain China’s technological rise and could escalate tensions between the two countries.
Nvidia shares fell 0.7% to $415.74 in morning trading in New York on Wednesday, paring an earlier decline of as much as 2.9%.
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It’s not clear whether the announcement will also include an extension of general licenses given to South Korean and Taiwanese companies. Samsung Electronics Co., SK Hynix Inc. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. won a one-year reprieve from the restrictions last October and have asked the White House to extend them by at least another year.
--With assistance from Ian King.
