Estonian FM: US' decision to limit chip exports to allies 'thoughtless, harmful'

A decision made by the outgoing U.S. administration to restrict advanced AI chip exports to some allies – including Estonia – is "completely ungrounded, thoughtless, and harmful," Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) said on Thursday.
The move made by U.S. President Joe Biden's administration was announced this week and divides the European Union in two. Additional restrictions on how many chips can be purchased will be applied to 17 member states, but 10 countries will have no limit, Politico reported.
"These tiny bits of technology power the boom in AI chatbots like ChatGPT and other cutting-edge AI tech," the outlet wrote. It pointed out Europe is reliant on U.S. companies for these components. Washington is trying to block China's access to AI chips.
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the majority of states that joined the European Union after 2004, Portugal, Turkey and Switzerland have been put into the "tier two" (yellow) category with new restrictions.
However, the situation has not changed for western Europe, the Nordics, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand in "tier one" (blue).
In a statement, Tsahkna said the decision was "completely ungrounded, thoughtless, and harmful, not just for the countries moved to the so-called second category but also for the United States."

"It is completely unacceptable that the administration of President Joe Biden has decided to restrict the access of a considerable number of EU member states and NATO Allies, including Estonia, to AI technologies," Tsahkna said. "This decision has a direct impact on the ongoing or planned development activities of Estonia and other EU member states for creating a secure and reliable AI and its applications."
The minister said Estonia has been a global leader of implementing innovative solutions throughout its society, and it has shared its expertise and experience globally.
"When it comes to developing AI, it is clear that countries must expand their cooperation instead of imposing restrictions on supplying technology to Allies," he said.
"The EU functions as a common market, and in research and development, too, it is easier for us to be united and join the United States in countering untrustworthy technologies and global forces," Tsahkna said.
"Estonia is in touch with US authorities and the European Commission to ensure that this error is rectified as soon as possible," he minister added.
Expert: U.S. wants to maintain A.I. leadership position

Luukas Kristjan Ilves, an advisor to Ukraine's minister of digital transformation, told ERR the U.S. wants to maintain its position as leader in the field of artificial intelligence.
"When we ask what is behind these export rules, it is part of a broader trend where artificial intelligence is increasingly viewed not just as another exciting technology, but as a technology at the center of geopolitical competition — primarily competition with China, but also more broadly in any kind of security competition with unfriendly states," said Ilves, the former undersecretary for digital transformation at the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications.
He said the reason for placing Estonia in category two could be because it is not part of the same export control regimes as most Western European countries.
"There are different regulatory frameworks for exporting sensitive technologies. For example, Eastern European countries generally have not been part of the missile technology control regime. And apparently — since this decision was made very hastily, without consulting allies — even within the administration in Washington, many people who typically handle technology issues only learned about these rules a day or two before they were announced. The speculation, therefore, is that a blunt approach was taken: a list of countries participating in all control regimes was simply applied in this case," the expert explained.
"There is, thus, a bureaucratic-technocratic reason, which is in itself partially rational. But, of course, that does not mean we should be satisfied with it, because these restrictions were designed in the context of military technology exports, and applying their logic to chip exports is somewhat arbitrary," Ilves said.
However, he emphasized that these rules should not be viewed solely as export restrictions. While they new rules initially seem limiting to some, they could actually be a liberalization of export restrictions to others, Ilves added. The next U.S. President Donald Trump may seek to reverse them.
"They can also be seen to some extent as a simplification of export rules. Firstly, for the 18 countries that face no restrictions at all, it was not previously crystal clear that such freedom existed. By establishing very clear rules and processes—including the possibility of applying for exceptions—this could provide some degree of legal certainty," he explained.
"Consequently, there is speculation that the Trump administration might not actually enforce these rules, potentially revoking this executive order — not because the rules are seen as too restrictive, but rather because they are viewed as too liberal. The speculation is that Trump wants to impose even further restrictions on chip exports," Ilves noted.
This article was updated to add comments from Luukas Kristjan Ilves.
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Editor: Helen Wright