January 29, 2025
Trump Should Support European AI Allies
During the Biden administration’s closing days, the Commerce Department issued sweeping technology export controls, placing new limits on the export of advanced AI chips.
The rules divided countries into three tiers. The top rung, Tier 1, allows a select group of 18 US allies and partners broad latitude to import and deploy advanced AI chips. Tier 2 countries — the vast majority of the world’s nations – face much more stringent restrictions. Tier 3 — including China, Russia, and other arms embargoed countries — are effectively banned from buying cutting-edge US-made AI chips.
As the US assesses its technology relationship with Europe, Poland and the Baltic states operating could be strong partners in addressing the administration’s concerns about EU regulation of American tech companies.
The Biden administration placed 17 of the 27 European Union members in Tier 2, including Poland and the Baltic states — Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania — seemingly overlooking those countries’ deep alignment with U.S. strategic and economic goals. Warsaw and the Baltics, among others, are deeply concerned — and, some would say, furious.
President Donald Trump faces a choice. He can do away with this regulation — as some US firms and members of Congress have advocated — or leverage it to strengthen key relationships, channel allied defense spending, and protect US AI commercial interests. If President Trump keeps the rule, his administration should use the upcoming Munich Security Conference to announce Poland and the Baltics’ elevation to Tier 1 status.
Read the full article on CEPA.
More from CNAS
-
Five Objectives to Guide U.S. AI Diffusion
Commentary
The Framework for AI Diffusion (the Framework) is an ambitious proposal to shape the global distribution of critical AI capabilities, maintain U.S. AI leadership, and prevent ...
By Janet Egan & Spencer Michaels
-
Germany's New Defense Agenda
Podcast
On April 9th, Friedrich Merz, the leader of Germany’s center-right Christian Democratic Union, secured a coalition agreement with the Social Democrats following his party’s vi...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend
-
Shaping the World’s AI Future: How the U.S. and China Compete to Promote Their Digital Visions
Commentary
As the United States navigates evolving global AI competition, balancing these elements will be crucial in determining whose AI systems — and by extension, whose approaches, v...
By Keegan McBride
-
Countering the Digital Silk Road: Brazil
Reports
Project Overview This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Digital Silk Road (DSR), China’s ambitious initiative to shape critical digital infrastructure around the world to...
By Ruby Scanlon & Bill Drexel
