United States of America: Bureau of Industry and Security released Policy Statement clarifying export controls on Artificial Intelligence related integrated circuits

On 13 May 2025, the Bureau of Industry and Security issued a Policy Statement clarifying that certain activities involving advanced computing integrated circuits (ICs) and related commodities used to train Artificial Intelligence (AI) models may require an export authorisation under the Export Administration Regulations. The Statement applies to exporters, re-exporters, transferors, and U.S. persons engaged in transactions or support involving items such as servers and chips. This is particularly true when there is knowledge that these items will be used to train AI models for, or on behalf of, parties headquartered in Country Group D:5 countries, including China or Macau. This includes transactions with foreign infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) providers, in-country changes in end use or user, and services performed by U.S. persons. The Statement highlighted due diligence obligations, including red flag indicators and Know Your Customer guidance, and warned that violations could lead to civil or criminal penalties or Entity List designations, even where no formal EAR violation occurs.