Chip 5400, where are you? Trump administration proposes location tracking for advanced AI chips

The Trump administration has recommended implementing location verification technology for advanced AI chips to prevent them from reaching foreign adversaries like China. The proposal, part of a broader AI blueprint released Wednesday, received bipartisan support from lawmakers who have introduced similar legislation to track semiconductors after they’re sold.

What you should know: The recommendation aims to ensure that advanced AI chips from companies like Nvidia and AMD don’t end up in restricted countries despite export controls.

• The administration wants to “explore leveraging new and existing location verification features on advanced AI compute to ensure that the chips are not in countries of concern.”
• The proposal was included in a broader AI blueprint that also aimed to boost AI exports to U.S. allies and relax environmental rules for AI data center construction.
• Key technical details about implementation costs and methods remain to be determined.

Bipartisan congressional support: Lawmakers from both parties who previously introduced chip security legislation praised the administration’s recommendation.

• Representative Bill Foster, an Illinois Democrat, said he was “encouraged to see that the recommended export control policy includes location verification mechanisms and aligns closely with our bipartisan Chip Security Act.”
• Senator Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, was “pleased to see verification included in President Trump’s AI Action Plan,” calling it “an important tool to keep advanced American technology out of the hands of Communist China.”

Why this matters: Current export controls rely on initial sale restrictions, but chips can potentially be redirected to banned countries through intermediaries or black market channels.

• Location verification would provide ongoing monitoring of where chips are actually being used, not just where they were initially shipped.
• The technology addresses concerns that advanced semiconductors are finding their way to China despite existing export bans designed to limit the country’s AI capabilities.

What’s next: Both the Trump administration’s recommendations and existing congressional bills will need to work out crucial implementation details.

• Questions remain about the technical mechanisms for location verification and the additional costs it would impose on chip manufacturers and users.
• Foster indicated he looks forward to “learning more of the technical details and next steps for end-use verification” as the policy develops.