Why Europe fears new US export restrictions for AI chips

EU officials and the artificial intelligence (AI) community are raising concerns over new US export controls that could hinder Europe’s ability to train AI models using its supercomputers. The restrictions, which apply to 17 EU member states, were announced by former US President Joe Biden mere days before leaving office in January.

Henna Virkkunen, EU Commissioner for Technical Sovereignty, and Maroš Šefčovič, Commissioner for the European Green Deal, responded with alarm, as reported by the Science-Business publication, emphasizing the potential economic and security consequences of the decision.

“We believe it is also in the US economic and security interest that the EU buys advanced AI chips from the US without limitations,” they stated jointly.

The EU, they argued, should be seen as “an economic opportunity for the US, not a security risk,” while reassuring the community that they were confident that "a way to maintain a secure transatlantic supply chain on AI technology and supercomputers” was possible.

The US government defended the restrictions as a crucial measure to maintain American dominance in global AI technology and prevent adversaries from misusing advanced AI. This appears to be aimed at major powers like China and Russia, both of which heavily invest in AI development. Notably, China recently sent "Big Tech" stock prices into a freefall with the launch of its open-source DeepSeek AI model, which, like US rival OpenAI, offers advanced capabilities but at a significantly lower cost.

As previously reported by, the regulations aim to encourage chipmakers like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), Samsung Electronics, and Intel to conduct more stringent customer vetting and due diligence. This follows an incident where chips made by TSMC were illegally rerouted to the blacklisted Chinese firm Huawei Technologies. After TSMC chips were discovered in Huawei products, the US Commerce Department instructed the Taiwanese company to cease manufacturing chips at 7 nm or below for Chinese customers, Bloomberg stated citing sources familiar with the issue.

A list of 18 “key US allies and partners” exempt from the restrictions includes the UK, Norway, and ten EU countries: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden. However, the remaining EU nations will face limitations on the number of advanced graphics processing units (GPUs) they can import from the US These GPUs are essential for powering the supercomputers that train AI models, such as those planned for the EU’s AI factories.

Both the EU and the US are integral to shaping global AI governance and share a conceptual alignment on a risk-based approach, emphasizing trustworthy AI and the importance of international standards. However, their regulatory frameworks diverge significantly, particularly concerning AI applications in socioeconomic processes and online platforms. This growing misalignment, coupled with geopolitical concerns, has heightened tensions, as both powers seek to counter China’s rapid advancements in AI while ensuring that Western values shape future innovation.

EU Supercomputers at Risk

The European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking has, to date, commissioned nine EU supercomputers. However, five of them—located in Luxembourg, Czechia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, and Portugal—are in countries not classified as key allies by the US Additionally, three more planned supercomputers, in Greece, Poland, and Hungary, also fall outside the list of favored nations.

Adding to the issue, Greece and Luxembourg are set to host two of the EU’s first AI factories, announced in December, which will provide AI-optimized supercomputing resources.

The core problem is that European supercomputers rely almost entirely on GPUs from a handful of American firms, predominantly Nvidia, with AMD and Intel playing smaller roles.

“It is safe to say that any restrictions would have a significant impact on the open trade of critical technologies, potentially disrupting global supply chains and innovation ecosystems,” said Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl, director general of DigitalEurope.

The trade association is advocating for the establishment of an EU-US Critical Tech and Dual Use Council to ensure that the EU remains a “trusted economic ally” rather than being “treated like a security risk.”

By Nazrin Sadigova