CHIP WAR PREDATED TRUMP’S TRADE WAR
An exemption would please the company, which has long argued that export controls are ineffective and give a boost to domestic players including Huawei. And while Beijing is not backing down, access to AI chips is one thing it desperately wants.
We’ve seen Trump blur the lines over tech national security concerns in the past. The various export controls on Nvidia predated his tariff blitz and are meant to hold China back in the AI race over fears that Beijing’s edge could give it military or economic advantages.
But the president has ignored similar worries before: He extended a deadline for TikTok to be banned in the US, turning the China-owned social media platform into a key leverage on tariffs.
The White House may yet roll back the crackdown on AI chips in China. Regardless, it’s a timely reminder that this trade war is risking America’s hard-won gains in the race for tech supremacy. Washington cannot fight on two fronts.
Access to chips and computing power has been at the core of Silicon Valley’s lead over China in AI, but that gap is closing fast. Washington’s tightening chip restrictions have been porous, but they have no doubt bought time.