The US plans AI chip curbs on Malaysia and Thailand over China concerns

The Trump administration intends to restrict shipments of AI chips from companies such as Nvidia to Malaysia and Thailand as part of a crackdown on suspected semiconductor smuggling into China.

According to people familiar with the matter, a draft Commerce Department rule aims to prevent China, to which the US has effectively banned sales of Nvidia's advanced AI processors, from obtaining those components through intermediaries in the two Southeast Asian nations. According to the people who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations, the rule has not yet been finalized and may change.