Washington Expands Chip Controls to 7 Countries, Requires Approval for Blackwell Imports
Key Facts
The U.S. Commerce Department is working to expand semiconductor export controls to 7 additional countries, including Singapore and Malaysia, according to a report published on November 12 by ChosunBiz, citing The Information. Under the proposal, those countries would need the department’s approval to import Nvidia Blackwell-class AI chips and more advanced models. The move is part of efforts to limit Chinese companies’ access to advanced computing capacity through data centers outside China. The proposal targets remote access and chip smuggling, according to a report by Investing.com, citing The Information. The expanded scope would mean the proposed oversight covers countries in Asia and beyond, not just manufacturing or shipping hubs.
The proposed list includes Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, as well as Brazil, Norway and South Africa, according to the report. The group spans different regions, extending the measure beyond transit routes in Southeast Asia. Commerce Department approval would be required to import Blackwell chips and more advanced generations into the targeted countries. The report does not describe the measure as an addition to a specific existing list, but as an expansion of export controls that would subject imports of advanced chips to approval. That would bring cloud computing companies and data centers operating in those markets within the scope of the proposed licensing and monitoring requirements.
Under the terms cited in the report, recipients would have to disclose who would receive the chips and how they would be used. They would also be subject to ongoing monitoring, extending scrutiny beyond the shipment’s arrival at its destination. The report said recipients “must report who will receive the chips and how they will be used, and be subject to ongoing monitoring.” These requirements are intended to track the end user and nature of the use, as well as control the import route itself. They make disclosure of the beneficiary of computing capacity and its use part of the proposed framework.
The proposal includes an exception for data centers operated by U.S. companies in the countries concerned, provided they meet specific requirements. These include reporting customers’ countries and the amount of computing capacity, according to the report. Operators would also have to prevent remote access from countries subject to a U.S. arms embargo, including China and Russia. The exception would therefore depend on disclosing customers and computing capacity and restricting access from embargoed countries. It would allow U.S. data centers to operate in the targeted markets without the usual licensing if they comply with the proposal’s conditions.
Other countries already require U.S. Commerce Department approval to import advanced AI chips, including Saudi Arabia and Vietnam, according to the report. Requirements in some of those countries include restrictions on remote access. This places Saudi Arabia in the context of existing controls on advanced chip imports, while the new measure would expand the number of countries covered. In Malaysia, customs announced on October 28 that it had seized 30 servers fitted with advanced AI chips on suspicion of violating export controls. It said the shipment, intercepted on October 15 in the free-trade zone at the main airport, was valued at about 50 million ringgit.
Malaysian authorities linked at least 5 cases to a suspected smuggling network, with chip seizures totaling more than 100 million ringgit through October 28, according to Reuters via Investing.com. These cases provide direct context for concerns about third countries being used as routes to transit or operate chips. In the market, Nvidia shares closed at $173.73 in the November 11 session, according to EL7 data. In the same session, the Nasdaq rose 1.6% as technology stocks advanced in an AI-led rebound, according to the Associated Press. The report did not specify when the rule would be approved or take effect.