As the Trump administration seeks to solidify its position as an AI industry leader both domestically and internationally, it faces the delicate task of not empowering foreign adversaries through its AI prowess. The recently released AI Action Plan outlines the administration's approach to achieving these goals, emphasizing the importance of leveraging the United States' advantage in data center construction, computing hardware performance, and AI models.

The plan calls for strengthening AI chip export controls through "creative approaches" and offers two policy recommendations. First, it encourages government organizations, including the Department of Commerce and National Security Council, to collaborate with the AI industry on chip location verification features. Second, it suggests establishing an effort to enforce potential chip export restrictions, highlighting the need for greater focus on component subsystems that are not currently subject to export controls.

The AI Action Plan also emphasizes the need for the U.S. to align with its global allies in this area. It states that America must impose strong export controls on sensitive technologies and encourages partners and allies to follow suit. If they do not, the plan suggests using tools such as the Foreign Direct Product Rule and secondary tariffs to achieve greater international alignment.

However, the AI Action Plan is light on specifics regarding how it will achieve AI global alliances, coordinate with allies on export chip restrictions, or work with U.S.-based AI companies on chip location verification features. Instead, it lays out the foundational building blocks required for future sustainable AI chip export guidelines, rather than policies implemented on top of existing guidelines.

This approach suggests that chip export restrictions will take more time to develop. Evidence beyond the AI Action Plan supports this notion, as the Trump administration has contradicted itself multiple times on its export restriction strategy in recent months. In July, the administration allowed semiconductor firms like Nvidia and AMD to start selling AI chips they had developed for China, just months after implementing licensing restrictions that effectively pulled Nvidia out of the Chinese market.

The Trump administration is expected to sign multiple executive orders on July 23, but it remains unclear whether these will contain detailed plans on how it will reach its goals. While the AI Action Plan discusses expanding the U.S. AI market globally while maintaining dominance, any executive order regarding chip export restrictions will likely focus on bringing the proper government departments together to determine a path forward, rather than formal guidelines at this stage.