WASHINGTON, Oct 31 — A United States Republican senator is asking US President Donald Trump’s administration to help the Malaysian government prevent US artificial intelligence (AI) chips from being smuggled through the country to China, according to a letter seen by Reuters.
Reuters has previously reported that US officials believe Malaysia is among a handful of countries where organised smuggling operations have worked to get US chips into China that would otherwise be banned from export to China.
Senator Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, wrote a letter to US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick saying Malaysian officials had begun cracking down on such activity, and the Trump administration should aid Malaysian officials in the effort by helping the country develop screening programmes to ensure chips are not being diverted to China.
Cotton, who along with the Trump administration has supported the idea of requiring US chips to contain technology that would verify their location to prevent smuggling, said chips with such technology should be given a green light for export to Malaysia.
“As is often the case, US companies are at the forefront of developing creative and innovative technical solutions, which will help add layers of assurance against illegal diversion,” Cotton wrote in the October 30 letter.
“To support the semiconductor industry in their efforts, it may be beneficial for US and Malaysian officials to develop priority customs clearance procedures for shipments of advanced US chips with anti-diversion mechanisms,” Cotton said.
Malaysia, China’s largest trading partner in Southeast Asia, announced in July it would require permits for all exports, transshipments and transits of US-made high-performance chips, such as those made by Nvidia.
