Microsoft has asked President Donald Trump to revise the artificial intelligence (AI) chip export restrictions imposed during Joe Biden’s final days in office.
The Biden administration first introduced strict export controls in 2022 to curb China’s access to advanced AI chips.
Before leaving office in January 2025, Biden tightened the restrictions further, limiting semiconductor exports to China and other rivals — including Mexico, Portugal, Israel, and Switzerland.
Reports recently emerged that the Trump administration is planning even tougher measures to continue and expand these efforts.
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However, in a blog post on Thursday, Microsoft said the current restrictions are harming allies such as India, Switzerland, and Israel by limiting their access to American AI chips.
The company warned that the policy is also preventing US tech firms from expanding AI data centres in these countries.
“Left unchanged, the Biden rule will give China a strategic advantage in spreading over time its own AI technology, echoing its rapid ascent in 5G telecommunications a decade ago,” the company said.
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The tech giant argued that by restricting supply to friendly nations, the US risks ceding ground to China, which may step in to fill the gap.
Despite US export bans, China has continued to make significant progress in AI.
In January, DeepSeek, a Chinese AI chatbot, became the most downloaded free app, surpassing OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
DeepSeek had claimed it trained its model using Nvidia’s H800 chips for just $6 million, which is a fraction of the billions spent by US companies like OpenAI.
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In response, Trump announced the $500 billion Stargate Project, aimed at expanding data centres and reinforcing America’s dominance in AI.
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