NEW YORK CITY, New York: The U.S. government has unveiled new regulations to tighten control over artificial intelligence (AI) chip and technology exports.

The goal is to maintain the country's leadership in AI while limiting access to rivals like China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.

"The U.S. leads AI now-both AI development and AI chip design-and it's critical that we keep it that way," said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

The regulations, set to take effect in 120 days, introduce global licensing requirements for advanced AI chips, divide countries into three tiers for export restrictions, and allow exceptions for America's closest allies, such as Japan, South Korea, and the UK. Export caps will apply to over 120 countries, including Singapore and Israel, while arms-embargoed nations are entirely excluded.

The new rules also cover advanced graphics processing units (GPUs) used in training AI models, which are predominantly manufactured by U.S.-based Nvidia and AMD. These restrictions do not extend to gaming chips.

Critics, including Nvidia, have labeled the regulations as "sweeping overreach," arguing they may stifle innovation and hand market advantages to competitors in China. Oracle has also expressed concerns, stating the rules could cede global AI and GPU market share to Chinese firms.

The regulations offer global authorizations for major U.S.-headquartered cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, and Google to build data centers abroad. However, these companies will face stringent security and reporting requirements and limits on AI computing power deployed outside Tier 1 countries.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan emphasized the dual-use nature of AI, which can contribute to advancements in healthcare and education but also presents risks such as enabling cyberattacks and surveillance.

China's Commerce Ministry has vowed to safeguard its "legitimate rights and interests" in response to the U.S. restrictions.

The Biden administration's four-year campaign to curtail China's access to advanced chips is now transitioning into the hands of President-elect Donald Trump's team, which shares a similar stance on managing U.S.-China tech competition.

"The effectiveness of these measures over the next 10 to 15 years will depend on the incoming administration," said Meghan Harris, a former national security official.