Key Points
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, right, speaks alongside President Donald Trump about investing in America, at the White House in Washington, on April 30, 2025.
Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images
The Trump administration on Wednesday prepared to rescind U.S. chip export restrictions known as the “AI diffusion rule,” effectively stopping a set of artificial intelligence semiconductor limits from taking effect next week.
A Department of Commerce spokesperson confirmed the plan to CNBC after Bloomberg reported on it earlier.
Nvidia shares climbed Wednesday in reaction to the news. The company has been vocal in its stance that restricting chip exports limits U.S. leadership in advanced technology.
“We welcome the Administration’s leadership and new direction on AI policy,” an Nvidia spokesperson said in a statement. “With the AI Diffusion Rule revoked, America will have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to lead the next industrial revolution and create high-paying U.S. jobs, build new U.S.-supplied infrastructure, and alleviate the trade deficit.”
The rule, which was proposed in the last days of the Biden administration, organizes countries into three different tiers, all of which have different restrictions on whether advanced AI chips such as those made by Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Intel can be shipped to the country without a license.
The chip restrictions were scheduled to take effect on May 15.
“The Biden AI rule is overly complex, overly bureaucratic, and would stymie American innovation,” a Department of Commerce spokesperson said in a statement. “We will be replacing it with a much simpler rule that unleashes American innovation and ensures American AI dominance.”
Chipmakers, including Nvidia and AMD, have been against the tiered restrictions.
AMD CEO Lisa Su told CNBC on Wednesday that the U.S. should strike a balance between restricting access to chips for national security and providing access, which will boost the American chip industry.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said earlier this week that being locked out of the Chinese AI market would be a “tremendous loss.”
During a visit to Capitol Hill in April, Huang again made the case for AI policies that help the technology advance.
“This is an industry that we will have to compete for,” Huang said.
- The Trump administration on Wednesday prepared to rescind U.S. chip export restrictions known as the “AI diffusion rule.”
- The artificial intelligence semiconductor restrictions were scheduled to take effect on May 15.
- Chipmakers, including Nvidia and AMD, have been against the tiered restrictions.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, right, speaks alongside President Donald Trump about investing in America, at the White House in Washington, on April 30, 2025.
Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images
The Trump administration on Wednesday prepared to rescind U.S. chip export restrictions known as the “AI diffusion rule,” effectively stopping a set of artificial intelligence semiconductor limits from taking effect next week.
A Department of Commerce spokesperson confirmed the plan to CNBC after Bloomberg reported on it earlier.
Nvidia shares climbed Wednesday in reaction to the news. The company has been vocal in its stance that restricting chip exports limits U.S. leadership in advanced technology.
“We welcome the Administration’s leadership and new direction on AI policy,” an Nvidia spokesperson said in a statement. “With the AI Diffusion Rule revoked, America will have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to lead the next industrial revolution and create high-paying U.S. jobs, build new U.S.-supplied infrastructure, and alleviate the trade deficit.”
The rule, which was proposed in the last days of the Biden administration, organizes countries into three different tiers, all of which have different restrictions on whether advanced AI chips such as those made by Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Intel can be shipped to the country without a license.
The chip restrictions were scheduled to take effect on May 15.
“The Biden AI rule is overly complex, overly bureaucratic, and would stymie American innovation,” a Department of Commerce spokesperson said in a statement. “We will be replacing it with a much simpler rule that unleashes American innovation and ensures American AI dominance.”
Chipmakers, including Nvidia and AMD, have been against the tiered restrictions.
AMD CEO Lisa Su told CNBC on Wednesday that the U.S. should strike a balance between restricting access to chips for national security and providing access, which will boost the American chip industry.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said earlier this week that being locked out of the Chinese AI market would be a “tremendous loss.”
During a visit to Capitol Hill in April, Huang again made the case for AI policies that help the technology advance.
“This is an industry that we will have to compete for,” Huang said.