By Alexandra Kelley
The Trump administration said the American AI Exports Programme “will select industry-led export packages that will include AI hardware, software, models, and applications across industry sectors for promotion to countries and regions around the world.”
The Commerce Department launched its latest initiative to lay the groundwork for a strong artificial intelligence export environment by unveiling the American AI Exports Programme on Tuesday.
The programme was designed to further expand the US technology industry’s access to global customers. Commerce has christened the effort with a new website, which was created based on feedback from an earlier request for information.
“Under President Trump’s direction, the Department of Commerce is launching a full-stack AI export promotion programme to advance America’s global leadership in AI,” the press release reads. “The programme will select industry-led export packages that will include AI hardware, software, models, and applications across industry sectors for promotion to countries and regions around the world.”
The initiative seeks to create a marketplace to match customers with American AI services and goods by focusing on goals to “increase exports, close deals, and advocacy and financing.” Commerce is currently seeking feedback and proposals from US AI companies, asking for revenue size, employee count, and the specific foreign markets a given company wishes to enter.
Industry advocates have so far reacted positively to the programme.
“The Business Software Alliance commends the White House for soliciting input from stakeholders, including industry as the administration builds out the American AI Exports Programme,” BSA Senior Vice President for Global Policy Aaron Cooper said. “BSA will be focused on suggestions to help further AI adoption in markets worldwide and ensure economies are well-served by trusted technologies.”
Cooper said that the programme should take a “flexible and modular approach” to AI export promotion, including grounding the initiative in security and legal principles.
The policy director at Americans for Responsible Innovation, Rachel Hovde agreed, saying that her organization is “glad that the RFI specifically asks for input on what countries are most critical to prioritize for US AI exports, and hope that this decision can be made based on both economic and strategic factors.”
Hovde further stated that it is critical for the Trump administration to keep national security interests in mind while crafting AI export policy and recommended that use cases and end destinations, among other factors, be part of the trade process.
The Trump administration recently overhauled the Biden administration’s more restrictive export control rules that targeted sensitive US technological products. The launch of the American AI Exports Programme continues the White House’s goal of promoting US technology globally as a means to keep the American tech industry dominant and maintain innovation control over emerging technologies — two points Big Tech leadership has underscored as vital for US economic and national security.
Other White House officials, including Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios, have said US AI stack diffusion remains a priority for the administration, but that certain advanced systems — such as high-end semiconductors — still require some level of export control.
