TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The US is considering changes to export rules controlling AI chips by replacing the tiered approach with government-to-government agreements.

Three sources told Reuters that US officials may discard the Framework for Artificial Intelligence Diffusion, which splits nations into three tiers that control their access to advanced chips. Issued in January under former US President Joe Biden, the regulation is meant to keep the most advanced computing power among the US and its allies and not fall into the hands of China.

Taiwan is in the first tier, which includes 17 countries that can obtain unlimited chips. The second tier contains around 120 countries that face limits on the amount of chips. In the third tier, China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are completely blocked from chip access. 

However, the Trump administration is reportedly considering government-to-government licensing agreements. This could follow his approach of making deals with nations individually, one source said. 

The change could also allow the US to use chips as leverage in trade negotiations, the report said. In March, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said he wanted to review export controls in trade talks.

Wilbur Ross, the commerce secretary during Trump's first term, said on Tuesday, "There are some voices pushing for elimination of the tiers … I think it's still a work in progress." 

US chipmakers Oracle and Nvidia criticized the regulation, which takes effect on May 15, when it was first announced in January.  Some stakeholders argued that limiting US chip access would cause nations to turn to China.

In April, seven Republican senators signed a letter to Lutnick requesting the administration to cancel the regulation. The letter said it would incentivize nations in Tier 2 to buy "unregulated cheap substitutes” from China.