US issues strong warning against using Huawei AI chips globally

The Trump administration has issued a stern warning to global companies, stating that using Huawei’s artificial intelligence chips could lead to criminal penalties for violating US export controls.

The Commerce Department’s new guidance clarifies that Huawei’s Ascend processors, including the 910B, 910C, and 910D models, are subject to strict US export regulations due to the likely inclusion of American technology, Caliber.Az reports via foreign press.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), which oversees export controls, confirmed that using Huawei Ascend chips anywhere in the world could violate these rules. However, officials emphasized that no new regulations were being introduced; rather, the guidance is a public clarification that even the use of Huawei-designed chips could potentially breach export control laws. These controls require hard-to-obtain licenses to export US-origin technology to Chinese companies like Huawei.

Kevin Wolf, a former export control lawyer, explained that the guidance reflects the interpretation that Huawei chips likely contain US software or were produced using US technology, including semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

The warning is part of growing US concerns about Huawei’s rapid progress in AI chip development. The company has begun delivering AI chip “clusters” in China that allegedly outperform Nvidia’s comparable products in key areas like compute and memory. These clusters, which rely on the 910C chips, offer superior performance despite each individual chip being less advanced than Nvidia's.

Huawei’s Ascend processors, particularly the 910B and 910C, are primarily sold to Chinese companies. In response to increasing demand, the company is expanding its semiconductor production capacity, aiming to replace foreign sources like Nvidia, which is no longer supplying products to Chinese firms.

As US concern grows about Huawei’s ability to compete globally with Nvidia and other American companies, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang called Huawei “one of the most formidable technology companies in the world.” He also stated that US policies should support his company’s global competition.

In related news, the Commerce Department also rescinded the AI Diffusion Rule, a policy under the Biden administration intended to limit AI chip exports to countries like China. The Trump administration argued the rule was too bureaucratic and announced plans to replace it with new measures in the future.

This move coincided with President Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia, where he unveiled a series of deals, including one with Saudi’s state-owned AI company, Humain, to build AI infrastructure using Nvidia chips. The scale of these deals raised concerns among senior US officials about the offshoring of AI infrastructure and the growing collaboration between Gulf states and China.