Malaysia closes a back door that may have allowed US-sourced AI chips to reach China

The government of Malaysia on Monday closed a back door that may have allowed the export of AI chips to China.

The nation’s Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry on Monday made an announcement [PDF] that it now requires exporters of “high performance AI chips of US origin” to obtain a strategic trade permit before shipping the semiconductors to China.

Malaysia issues such permits under its Strategic Trade Act of 2010, which applies to nuclear material, goods related to aerospace, and to electronics including computers and goods related to telecommunications and information security. The act allows for one-off permits, bulk permits, multiple-use permits and special permits.

The latter are one-off permits issued for exports to restricted destinations. Malaysia will require exporters of advanced AI chips to acquire permit 30 days before shipping.

Malaysia’s sudden interest in strong regulation of semiconductor exports may be due to early July rumours ...