A Prophecy of Esau and Jacob

The US allies without restrictions include Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.

BBC • January 13, 2025 ~ The Times of Israel

New US restrictions on the export of advanced computer chips and other artificial intelligence (AI) technology have caused concern in some countries like India, Poland, Switzerland, Portugal, Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and even Israel collectively known as tier 2, which has not been included by Washington among the “key allies and partners” exempted from the measures.

News that tier 2 countries will now face limits on how much tech it can import came just days after the digital affairs minister declared that he wanted the country to become a “European leader in AI.”

One of his deputies now says that the new measures introduced by the White House “constitute a long-term problem” for tier 2 in developing the sector.

On Monday, the Biden administration announced that it was “acting decisively” to “ensure that US technology undergirds global AI use and that adversaries cannot easily abuse advanced AI.”

It divided countries around the world into three categories: 18 close allies that would face no new restrictions; a second tier of countries that will have a cap on how much advanced tech they can import from the US; and a third group that is already banned from buying advanced chips and will now face further restrictions.

India, Poland, Switzerland, Austria, Portugal, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Singapore like most other countries, now falls under the second tier. CNN reports that those measures have likely been introduced by the US to prevent China from indirectly accessing AI chips through third countries.

As such, tier 2 countries will only be able to import up to the equivalent of 50,000 advanced graphics processing units (GPUs), specialised processors that are used in training and running AI models.

However, the White House notes that countries can make agreements to double their chip caps if their policies on export controls, clean energy and tech security align with those of the US. “Trusted national entities” in such countries can also apply to import up to 320,000 advanced GPUs over the next two years.

Meanwhile, orders of up to around 1,700 advanced GPUs do not require a licence at all and will not count against countries’ chip caps.

Nevertheless, the new measures have caused concern in Poland, Portugal, Switzerland, Austria, Greece or more broadly in the European Union, which is now divided between 10 countries in tier 1 and 17 in tier 2.

On Monday, the European Commission issued a statement expressing “concern about the US measures restricting access to advanced AI chip exports for selected EU member states and their companies.” It argued that Washington should treat the EU as an “economic opportunity for the US, not a security risk.”

And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have no assurance of thy life.

In the morning thou shalt say, ‘Would God it were evening!’ and at evening thou shalt say, ‘Would God it were morning!’ for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. Deuteronomy 28:66-67

~ by Joel on January 20, 2025.

Posted in Tech Race '25, US