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Nvidia Blasts Biden AI Move, Lauds Trump Actions as Trade Groups Add to Backlash

• By David Ramel
• 01/15/2025

Tech organizations and companies blasted this week's AI moves by the Biden administration, with Nvidia slamming the U.S. president's actions and comparing current government policies unfavorably with those of president-elect Donald Trump.

The U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) revised the Export Administration Regulations' (EAR) controls on advanced computing integrated circuits (ICs) and added a new control on AI model weights for certain advanced closed-weight dual-use AI models. The government said it aims to manage the global spread of AI technology while protecting national security and foreign policy interests.

The rule, "Framework for Artificial Intelligence Diffusion," which took effect Jan. 15, is published here. One key aspect is restricting China's access to advanced AI tech.

Reuters reported early this week that tech industry trade groups -- the Semiconductor Industry Association, representing chip firms, and SEMI, representing chip-making tool firms -- sent a letter to President Joe Biden complaining about the move and expected follow-on actions that later materialized, including an executive order to accelerate AI infrastructure development.

While the moves garnered criticism and backlash from multiple sources, an Nvidia exec penned a blog post that explicitly criticized the Biden administration, compared unfavorably to Trump's.

Comments in "NVIDIA Statement on the Biden Administration's Misguided 'AI Diffusion' Rule" penned by Ned Finkle, VP of government affairs, on Jan. 13, included:

• The first Trump Administration laid the foundation for America's current strength and success in AI, fostering an environment where U.S. industry could compete and win on merit without compromising national security.
• The Biden Administration now seeks to restrict access to mainstream computing applications with its unprecedented and misguided 'AI Diffusion' rule, which threatens to derail innovation and economic growth worldwide.
• In its last days in office, the Biden Administration seeks to undermine America's leadership with a 200+ page regulatory morass, drafted in secret and without proper legislative review.
• And by attempting to rig market outcomes and stifle competition -- the lifeblood of innovation -- the Biden Administration's new rule threatens to squander America's hard-won technological advantage.
• As the first Trump Administration demonstrated, America wins through innovation, competition and by sharing our technologies with the world -- not by retreating behind a wall of government overreach.

Furthermore, he said: "While cloaked in the guise of an 'anti-China' measure, these rules would do nothing to enhance U.S. security. The new rules would control technology worldwide, including technology that is already widely available in mainstream gaming PCs and consumer hardware. Rather than mitigate any threat, the new Biden rules would only weaken America's global competitiveness, undermining the innovation that has kept the U.S. ahead."

Nvidia has an office in Beijing like many, if not most, other tech giants.

A Zacks article, "Biden's Bold Moves: AI Push & Chinese Smart Car Ban to Boost US," this week also weighed in on the news, mentioning the political angle.

"These policies set the stage for potential continuity or shifts under a future administration," said author Rimmi Singhi. "When Trump returns to office, he might choose to expand upon Biden's policies or chart his own path. However, bipartisan consensus on the risks posed by China's technological advancements suggests that key elements of the current strategy are likely to remain in place."