logo
Trump administration to supercharge AI sales to allies

Trump administration to supercharge AI sales to allies

Reuters4 days ago
July 23 (Reuters) - The Trump administration released a new artificial intelligence blueprint on Wednesday that aims to loosen environmental rules and vastly expand AI exports to allies, in a bid to maintain the American edge over China in the critical technology.
President Donald Trump will mark the plan's release with a speech outlining the importance of winning an AI race that is increasingly seen as a defining feature of 21st-century geopolitics, with both China and the United States investing heavily in the industry to secure economic and military superiority.
The plan, which includes some 90 recommendations, calls for the export of U.S. AI software and hardware abroad as well as a crackdown on state laws deemed too restrictive to let it flourish, a marked departure from predecessor Joe Biden's "high fence" approach that limited global access to coveted AI chips.
"We're establishing a program led by the departments of Commerce and State to partner with industry to deliver secure full-stack AI export packages, including hardware models, software applications and standards to America's friends and allies around the world," said Michael Kratsios, head of the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
An expansion in exports of a full suite of AI products could benefit AI chip juggernauts Nvidia and AMD (AMD.O), opens new tab as well as AI model giants Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Google, Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab, OpenAI and Facebook parent Meta (META.O), opens new tab.
Biden feared U.S. adversaries like China could harness AI chips produced by companies like Nvidia and AMD to supercharge its military and harm allies. The former president, who left office in January, imposed a raft of restrictions on U.S. exports of AI chips to China and other countries that it feared could divert the semiconductors to America's top global rival.
Trump rescinded Biden's executive order aimed at promoting competition, protecting consumers and ensuring AI was not used for misinformation. He also rescinded Biden's so-called AI diffusion rule, which capped the amount of American AI computing capacity some countries were allowed to obtain via U.S. AI chip imports.
"Our edge (in AI) is not something that we can sort of rest on our laurels," Vice President JD Vance said at the event titled "Winning the AI Race," organized by White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks and his co-hosts on the "All-In" podcast.
"If we're regulating ourselves to death and allowing the Chinese to catch up to us, that's not something ... we should blame the Chinese for..., that is something we should blame our own leaders for, for having stupid policies that allow other countries to catch up with America," Vance said.
The AI plan, according to a senior administration official, does not address national security concerns around Nvidia's H20 chip, which powers AI models and was designed to walk right up to the line of prior restrictions on Chinese AI chip access.
Trump blocked the export of the H20 to China in April but allowed the company to resume sales earlier this month, sparking rare public criticism from fellow Republicans.
The plan also calls for fast tracking the construction of data centers by loosening environmental regulations and utilizing federal land to expedite development of the projects, including any power supplies.
The administration will seek to establish new exclusions for data centers under the National Environmental Policy Act and streamline permits under the Clean Water Act.
Trump will incorporate some of the plan's recommendations into executive orders that will be signed ahead of his speech, according to two sources familiar with the plans. Trump directed his administration in January to develop the plan.
Trump is expected to take additional actions in the upcoming weeks that will help Big Tech secure the vast amounts of electricity it needs to power the energy-guzzling data centers needed for the rapid expansion of AI, Reuters previously reported.
U.S. power demand is hitting record highs this year after nearly two decades of stagnation as AI and cloud computing data centers balloon in number and size across the country.
The export expansion plans announced Saturday take a page from deals unveiled in May that gave the United Arab Emirates expanded access to advanced artificial intelligence chips from the United States after previously facing restrictions over Washington's concerns that China could access the technology.
The event is hosted by the Hill and Valley Forum, an informal supper club whose deep-pocketed members helped propel Trump's campaign and sketched out a road map for his AI policy long before he was elected.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Irish premier welcomes trade deal between EU and US
Irish premier welcomes trade deal between EU and US

Rhyl Journal

time15 minutes ago

  • Rhyl Journal

Irish premier welcomes trade deal between EU and US

The deal was reached during a meeting between Donald Trump and the president of the European Commission on Sunday. The US president met European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to hammer out the final details on the trading relationship between Europe and the US. Reacting to the deal, Taoiseach Micheal Martin said the agreement was very welcome. I welcome the outcome of trade talks today between the European Commission and the US. — Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD) July 27, 2025 'It brings clarity and predictability to the trading relationship between the EU and the US – the biggest in the world,' the Fianna Fail leader said. 'That is good for businesses, investors and consumers. It will help protect many jobs in Ireland. 'The negotiations to get us to this point have been long and complex, and I would like to thank both teams for their patient work. 'We will now study the detail of what has been agreed, including its implications for businesses exporting from Ireland to the US, and for different sectors operating here. 'The agreement is a framework and there will be more detail to be fleshed out in the weeks and months ahead.' Mr Martin said the higher tariffs will have an impact on trade between the EU and the US, which will make it more expensive and more challenging. 'However, it also creates a new era of stability that can hopefully contribute to a growing and deepening relationship between the EU and the US, which is important not just for the EU and the US, but for the global economy,' he added. 'Given the very real risk that existed for escalation and for the imposition of punitively high tariffs, this news will be welcomed by many.' The deal was also welcomed by deputy Irish premier and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Simon Harris, who said it brings clarity to businesses. 'While we have yet to see the detail, I welcome that an agreement has been announced by Commission President von der Leyen and US President Trump,' Mr Harris said in a statement. 'A deal provides a measure of much-needed certainty for Irish, European and American businesses who together represent the most integrated trading relationship in the world. Ireland makes a key contribution to this with the Ireland-US economic relationship valued at more than one trillion euros. 'The US had made clear, and this has been replicated in other recent agreements, which the US has reached with other countries, that a baseline tariff was always going to be part of the outcome. 'I have always stressed that tariffs are damaging and will have a negative impact on companies exporting to the US. 'While Ireland regrets that the baseline tariff of 15% is included in the agreement, it is important that we now have more certainty on the foundations for the EU-US trade relationship, which is essential for jobs, growth and investment. 'President von der Leyen described this as 15% tariffs across the board, all-inclusive.' He said further detail is needed around pharma, aviation and other sectors. Mr Harris said he will examine the details of the agreement over the coming days to establish the effect on Irish businesses and the economy. Earlier, EU commissioner Michael McGrath said the meeting was a 'significant and decisive moment'. Mr McGrath, EU Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection, said it would involve substantive negotiations between both sides. 'It's a significant moment, we hope a decisive moment, and it builds on an enormous amount of work that has been done over quite a period of time,' Mr McGrath said ahead of the meeting. 'President Trump invited President von der Leyen to Scotland for a meeting. 'This follows on the back of intensive negotiations over a number of months. He added: 'It is not a case of turning up and signing on the dotted line. There will be a real discussion that will happen, and it will take on a dynamic of its own, and let's see what happens over the course of the afternoon. 'But from the EU's point of view, we are determined to do all that we can to get a deal for European businesses, because we recognise the cost of uncertainty. 'It manifests in trade and in investment decisions and ultimately in employment and of course tariffs can cost consumers at the end of the day. 'We want a good deal. We have negotiated hard, and we're at a point now where hopefully the two leaders can today bring it to a concluding phase.'

Stephen Flynn jokes he'll be ‘washing hair' when Donald Trump visits Scotland
Stephen Flynn jokes he'll be ‘washing hair' when Donald Trump visits Scotland

The Independent

time15 minutes ago

  • The Independent

Stephen Flynn jokes he'll be ‘washing hair' when Donald Trump visits Scotland

Stephen Flynn joked he will be washing his hair when Donald Trump visits the UK. The Scottish National Party's (SNP) Westminster leader, who is bald, told Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg that he will find "any excuse possible" to avoid meeting the US president on his trip to Scotland. While insisting it was 'absolutely right' that First Minister John Swinney meets Mr Trump, Mr Flynn quipped that he'd be 'looking after his own toddlers' while the Republican is in the country.

Trump: wind farms are a ‘con job'
Trump: wind farms are a ‘con job'

Telegraph

time16 minutes ago

  • Telegraph

Trump: wind farms are a ‘con job'

President Donald Trump branded wind power a 'con job' after playing golf in Scotland, describing how turbines ruined the view from the 18th hole of his Turnberry course. The president said wind farms spoiled the landscape and sucked in expensive subsidies in comments likely to complicate a meeting with Sir Keir Starmer on Monday. 'The whole thing is a con job. It's very expensive,' he added as he announced a trade deal with the EU. The deal includes the EU buying billions of dollars of American energy, including natural gas. Mr Trump spent Sunday morning playing golf with his son Eric and club members before sitting down for crucial European trade talks. 'Today I'm playing the best course, I think, in the world, Turnberry,' he said, in front of a giant picture window looking out on its fairways, dunes and the sea beyond. 'It's probably the best course in the world. And I look over the horizon and I see nine windmills at the end of the 18th. I said, 'Isn't that a shame?'' Mr Trump's Scotland visit is centred around his two golf clubs. On Friday, engulfed in the Epstein scandal at home, he issued an eleventh-hour invitation to Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, to come to his Ayrshire golf club to try to agree a trade deal before crippling tariffs come into force on August 1. He announced a trade deal shortly after the meeting at Turnberry, and dismissed the idea the deal was a useful distraction from the Epstein accusations. 'We have reached a deal. It's a good deal for everybody,' he told reporters, confirming 15 per cent tariffs on all goods. Ms von der Leyen also hailed it as a 'good deal'. Mr Trump's comments on wind energy, however, are likely to complicate Mr Trump's meeting on Monday with Sir Keir, who has staked Britain's future energy supply on wind. In its manifesto last year, Labour promised to work with the private sector to double Britain's onshore wind power capacity by 2030. That meant ending the de facto ban on new onshore wind farms in England and, by declaring them nationally significant infrastructure projects, stripping councils of their power to block giant onshore wind farm developments. The policy, drawn up by Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, and condemned by critics as a 'power grab', cleared the way for a raft of new wind farms with turbines predicted to exceed 800ft in height. In Scotland on Sunday, Mr Trump pushed back on any suggestion that his 'beautiful' morning of golf had put him in a good mood. 'I'm actually not in a great mood,' he said at the press conference with Ms von der Leyen, to laughter from his team. Mr Trump may be on British soil, but he is meeting foreign leaders on home territory. The vast ballroom at Turnberry was set out like the Oval Office, scene of so many televised showdowns. The president took the seat on the right, just as he would at the White House, with his five advisers in seats beside him, arranged as if on the familiar couches, facing their counterparts no more than four feet away. A small group of guests, including his sons Donald Jr and Eric, were seated to one side, with a close-up view of the spectacle. But for all the important issues at stake, Mr Trump could not resist returning to golf and the presence of wind turbines. He was visiting Turnberry for the first time since Kirk Hill wind farm began producing energy from eight turbines that rise more than 300 ft into the air. 'The whole thing is a con job,' he said. 'It's very expensive, and in all fairness, Germany tried it and wind doesn't work.' He said it made no sense to subsidise energy projects such as wind farms. 'With energy, you make money, you don't lose money. But more important than that is it ruins the landscape,' he said. 'It kills the birds.' He also said that 'windmills' were driving whales 'loco'. Long-running battle over turbines Mr Trump's hatred of turbines stems from a long-planning battle he had with Scottish authorities. He opposed plans for a major North Sea wind power development that he complained could be seen from his Aberdeenshire course but lost the case. On Monday, Sir Keir is expected to push Mr Trump for his help in securing a ceasefire in Gaza. The president promised more aid for Gaza but indicated that he had run out of patience with Hamas, accusing the terror group of toughening its line on returning the last remaining Israeli hostages. 'They don't want to give them back, and so Israel's going to have to make a decision,' he said. His US negotiators left Qatar, which is mediating talks, on Thursday as talks collapsed. In the press conference, Mr Trump also called Iran 'stupid' for continuing to enrich uranium in the wake of US air strikes on its nuclear facilities. He said Iran had been 'beaten up very badly, for good reason'. 'I think Iran has been very nasty, with their words, with their mouth. I think they've been very nasty. They got the hell knocked out of them and I don't think they know it,' he added. 'You've just come out of something that's so bad and they talk about: we want to continue enrichment … How stupid can you be to say that?'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store