Trump Admin Eyes Chinese AI Ban to Aid OpenAI, Anthropic
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- Commerce Department considered adding multiple Chinese AI labs to its "Entity List" last year to cut off U.S. access without a license, per a source close to the administration
- White House explored an executive order requiring U.S. companies hosting Chinese models to guarantee security and assume liability for breaches, the source added
- NSA and the Office of the National Cyber Director considered issuing an advisory warning about Chinese AI lab threats to discourage U.S. companies from using their technology
- Sriram Krishnan, a former White House adviser who opposed restrictions, has departed, and national security hawks have grown louder — reviving momentum for restrictions
- Leading U.S. AI labs or their allies approach the administration every 3-5 months with proposals to restrict open-source models, per a source close to the administration
- David Sacks, an outside White House AI adviser, warned on X that closed labs want government to "eliminate their open-source competition" at this "critical inflection point in AI policy"
- Chinese open-source models like Kimi have surged in U.S. adoption because they're cheaper and nearly as capable as domestic alternatives, the source noted
Why it matters: The administration's shift from earlier-killed restrictions toward a "slower and more durable" approach — procurement rules, Entity List threats, and public pressure campaigns — would benefit OpenAI and Anthropic's closed-source duopoly while choking off the cheaper Chinese alternatives U.S. companies increasingly rely on for cost and capability reasons.
