AsianFin -- The U.S. government tightened its export controls on artificial intelligence (AI) chips with a new guidance on Tuesday targeting processors made by Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies Co.
Credit：Huawei
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) under the U.S. Department of Commerce issued a guidance that “using Huawei Ascend chips anywhere in the world violates U.S. export controls”, as part of actions to strengthen export restrictions for overseas AI chips. The guidance alerts industry to the risks of using China’s advanced-computing integrated circuits (ICs), including Huawei Ascend chips as these chips were likely developed or produced in violation of U.S. export controls.
Three Huawei Ascend AI chip models, ranging from Ascend 910B, 910C to the most advanced 910D, were placed on a list of PRC 3A090 ICs subject to the presumption that General Prohibition 10 (GP10) restrictions apply. BIS warned that, pursuant of GP10, the use of aforementioned China’s computing ICs risks breaching U.S. export controls and may subject to BIS enforcement action. Engaging in GP10 activities, including use of such “PRC 3A090 ICs” without BIS authorization, could result in substantial criminal and administrative penalties, according to the guidance.
The BIS believes that chips under PRC 3A090 ICs likely are either designed with certain U.S. software or technology or produced with semiconductor manufacturing equipment that is the direct product of certain U.S.-origin software or technology, or both. Such chips may have been produced, purchased, or ordered by an entity listed on the Entity List, a blacklist that requires the exporter to secure a license unless foreign parties on the list that are prohibited from receiving some or all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).
According to the guidance, BIS is notifying all persons and companies in the United States and abroad that engaging in GP10 activities, including use of PRC 3A090 ICs, such as those Huawei Ascend chips, without requisite authorization from BIS could result in BIS enforcement actions which could include substantial criminal and administrative penalties, up to and including imprisonment, fines, loss of export privileges, or other restrictions.
The BIS the same day issued another guidance warning the public about the potential consequences of allowing U.S. AI chips to be used for training and inference of Chinese AI models. Exports, reexports, or transfers (in-country) of advanced computing ICs and commodities subject to the EAR to any party, such as foreign data center providers, may trigger a license requirement when the exporter, reexporter, or transferor has “knowledge” that the provider will use these items to conduct training of AI models for or on behalf of parties headquartered in China for a military-intelligence end use, per the guidance. Parties that do not obtain prior BIS authorization to engage in these transactions or activities may be subject to potential civil or criminal enforcement action if a violation of the EAR occurs.
