US considers tying Nvidia and AMD AI chip exports to foreign investment pledges

The US Commerce Department has proposed a new rule in Washington on March 5, 2026, that would require countries to invest in American infrastructure in exchange for access to advanced AI chips from Nvidia and AMD, as part of efforts to strengthen domestic AI capabilities and international technology partnerships. The draft regulation creates a tiered approval system for chip exports based on the computing power of the chips sold, with the highest tier requiring the buyer's home country to commit investments in US domestic AI infrastructure. This approach mirrors agreements reached with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia last November, where the US approved chip exports to G42 and Humain in exchange for pledges to invest in America. The proposed rule comes amid growing competition in the global AI chip market and represents a strategic shift in how the US manages advanced technology exports. According to sources familiar with the proposal, the Commerce Department is attempting to formalize the approach used in the Middle East agreements into a broader policy framework. Under the tiered system, foreign companies seeking to purchase large volumes of advanced chips would face varying levels of scrutiny, with some requiring informal consultations with US government agencies before Nvidia or AMD could apply for export licenses. The Commerce Department has emphasized that the new rule is distinct from the previous 'AI diffusion rule' implemented under the Biden administration, which they described as 'burdensome, over-reaching and disastrous.' Market reaction to the news was initially negative, with Nvidia stock falling as much as 2 percent following Bloomberg's report before recovering later in the day. A US official defended the proposal, stating that any rule issued by the administration would 'promote the American tech stack.' The Commerce Department confirmed that they were 'successfully advancing exports through our historic Middle East agreements' and that there were 'ongoing internal government discussions about formalizing that approach.' The department also clarified that the proposed rule would not affect export controls to US adversaries like China, which remain under separate restrictions. However, the government is still debating conditions for licenses allowing Nvidia to sell H200 chips to China, with President Trump having previously indicated approval contingent on the company giving 25 percent of revenues from those sales to the US government.