In Depth: China Was Ready for Biden’s 11th-Hour Tech Export Rules

A week before Joe Biden departed the White House on Jan. 20, his administration unveiled a rule to broaden export controls on the technology that powers advanced artificial intelligence (AI). 

The interim final rule (IFR), called the Framework for Artificial Intelligence Diffusion, requires licenses for the export, reexport and in-country transfer of high-performance computing microchips. The rule applies regardless of destination, with restrictions varying by country to “protect U.S. national security and foreign policy interests.”