The US is now reportedly planning to restrict the shipment of artificial intelligence chips to Malaysia and Thailand. This step is said to be taken in an effort to reduce the leakage of chips and semiconductors to China, via countries in Southeast Asia. Several things are expected to be introduced in line with these new changes, including export controls that require prior authorization from the authorities, or in the form of special licensing requirements.
For your information, the US is ready to ban the sale of artificial intelligence chips, such as those by NVIDIA, to China. However, it has been found that China is using other methods to gain access to the chips, including through the Southeast Asian region. Previously, there were reports that AI chips and servers were smuggled, but they were from Singapore via Malaysia.
Since 2023, the US has been ready to restrict the access of chips and semiconductors produced by companies in their country to several countries, including the Middle East. In fact, previously, the US had introduced three different levels of trade barriers, and at that time, Malaysia was categorized under the second category with several limitations.
The United States is said to be considering several ways to control this, including requiring special licenses or permits from Malaysia and Thailand before they can purchase the AI chips. It is also possible that American companies based in and using them in the region will be exempted from the requirement.
However, it is reported that these measures are still in the discussion stage and have not been finalized yet. Let's all wait and see what happens next.