President Donald Trump’s administration plans to restrict shipments of AI chips from the likes of Nvidia Corp. to Malaysia and Thailand, part of an effort to crack down on suspected semiconductor smuggling into China.
A draft rule from the Commerce Department seeks to prevent China — to which the US has effectively banned sales of Nvidia’s advanced AI processors — from obtaining those components through intermediaries in the two Southeast Asian nations, according to people familiar with the matter. The rule is not yet finalized and could still change, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations. Officials plan to pair the Malaysia and Thailand controls with a formal rescission of global curbs from the so-called AI diffusion rule, the people said. That framework from the end of President Joe Biden’s term drew objections from US allies and tech companies, including Nvidia. Washington would maintain semiconductor restrictions targeting China — imposed in 2022 and ramped up several times since — as well as more than 40 other countries covered by a 2023 measure, which Biden officials designed to address smuggling concerns and increase visibility into key markets.

Full report : US Plans AI Chip Curbs on Malaysia, Thailand Over China Concerns.