Washington Update

The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security on Wednesday issued the Framework for Artificial Intelligence Diffusion interim final rule, geared towards curbing China’s access to cutting-edge chips used in AI. The new rule imposes country-specific export caps on chips needed to train AI models, proposing a three-tier licensing system that determines the type and quantity of advanced chips a country can procure based on its relationship with the United States.

The Department of Defense (DOD) on Monday added prominent tech entities Tencent and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL), along with dozens of other Chinese companies, to its 1260H list of Chinese military companies. According to a department readout, these entities were added because of their involvement in China’s military-civil fusion strategy.

President-elect Donald Trump led the charge on Wednesday to convince House Republicans to abandon a bipartisan compromise bill to fund the government until March, increasing the chances of a government shutdown beginning today. The continuing resolution (CR), which was released on Tuesday, included multiple China-related provisions, including an outbound investment review proposal.

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) on Thursday released a comprehensive package of final rules designed to further impair China’s ability to produce advanced semiconductors.

As secretary of commerce, Lutnick is slated to lead the Trump administration’s “tariff and trade” agenda, especially if he is indeed given authority over certain functions of the USTR.

President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping will meet tomorrow on the sidelines of the 2024 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, which kicked off this week in Lima, Peru.

Upon beginning his second term, President-elect Donald Trump is expected to make good on his campaign promise to drastically raise US tariffs, especially those on Chinese imports, upending years of US trade policy and potentially leading to a renewed trade war.

The Department of the Treasury on Monday released a final rule implementing President Joe Biden’s August 2023 executive order on “Addressing United States Investments in Certain National Security Technologies and Products in Countries of Concern.”

The Department of Justice on Monday released the second iteration of a proposed rule to implement an executive order aimed at preventing certain entities from accessing US persons’ data. First introduced in February, the rule would limit the transfer of sensitive US personal data to countries of concern, including China.

US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo on Tuesday held a call with her Chinese counterpart, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao, where she reiterated the United States’ “small yard, high fence policy” when it comes to regulating Chinese technology.