Investing.com - Shares in Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) edged lower in premarket trading on Friday following a report that new US restrictions on chip exports could be soon announced.
The changes from the outgoing Biden administration would place a cap on the sale of US chips optimized for artificial intelligence on both a country and company basis, effectively tightening exports of the processors to much of the world, Bloomberg News has reported.
The updated rules could be revealed as soon as Friday, Bloomberg News said, adding that the changes would create three tiers of chip restrictions. Citing sources familiar with the matter, the news service noted that although some US allies would still have full access to American semiconductors, there would be fresh limits on the total computing power that can go to one country for the vast majority of the world.
Should the changes be unveiled, they would come just two weeks before President-elect Donald Trump is due to replace Biden in the White House.
In an emailed statement quoted by several media sources, Nvidia Vice President Ned Finkle said Biden should not "preempt incoming President Trump" with the policy alterations. Finkle argued that doing so would "harm the US economy, set America back, and play into the hands of US adversaries."
“The extreme ‘country cap’ policy will affect mainstream computers in countries around the world, doing nothing to promote national security but rather pushing the world to alternative technologies,” Finkle said, according to the media reports. Finkle warned that the move would leave the Biden administration with "a legacy that will be criticized by US industry and the global community."
As a seller of processors that help data centers operate and develop cutting-edge artificial intelligence models, Nvidia has become one of the figureheads of a surge in enthusiasm around the applications of AI.
The White House and US Commerce Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported.
(Reuters contributed reporting.)