The United States is moving in two directions at once on AI chip policy. New Commerce Department guidance raises the risk around Huawei's Ascend AI processors, while the Trump administration is scrapping a broader export rule from the Biden administration.
The result is a more targeted message: Huawei's AI hardware is facing sharper scrutiny, even as a wider framework for restricting AI chip exports is being pulled back.
Huawei Ascend chips face new export-control warning
The US Department of Commerce now considers use of Huawei's Ascend-series AI processors a potential violation of US export controls. The guidance applies anywhere in the world, not only inside the United States.
The Bureau of Industry and Security, or BIS, specifically named the Ascend 910B, 910C, and 910D. According to the BIS, those chips were either designed with US technology or made with equipment that depends on US-made software.
That distinction matters because export controls can reach beyond a product's final location. If a chip is connected to restricted technology or manufacturing tools, its use can become a compliance issue even when the hardware is being used outside US borders.
The guidance does not simply describe Huawei as a competitor in AI hardware. It places specific Ascend processors inside the logic of US export rules, making the chips a potential legal risk for users and buyers who must consider those rules.
Why the Ascend 910C is central to the story
The guidance arrives as Huawei is making progress with its own AI systems. The company is currently shipping Ascend clusters based on the 910C chip to customers in China.
Huawei says these cluster-based systems outperform comparable Nvidia solutions in key areas such as compute and memory when the chips are used together as a cluster. At the same time, the source article notes a clear limit: individual Ascend chips still trail Nvidia's top models in raw performance.
That contrast explains why clusters are important. Huawei's stated advantage is not framed around a single chip beating Nvidia's strongest individual processors. It is framed around what the system can do when many Ascend chips are combined.
For AI infrastructure, that distinction is significant. Large systems are often judged not only by the peak performance of one processor, but also by how processors work together, how memory is handled, and how much usable compute the cluster can deliver.
The "AI Diffusion Rule" is being dropped
At the same time, the Commerce Department has overturned the so-called "AI Diffusion Rule." The rule had been a central part of the Biden administration's approach to AI regulation and was set to take effect on May 15.
The rule would have placed new export restrictions on AI chips for a wide range of countries, including Mexico and Portugal. China and Russia would have faced even tighter restrictions.
By dropping it, the Trump administration is moving away from that broader export-control structure. The shift does not remove the new warning around Huawei's Ascend processors. Instead, it separates the two tracks: tighter attention on specific Huawei AI hardware, and less reliance on the Biden-era global framework.
That makes the policy picture more complicated than a simple tightening or loosening of AI chip controls. The United States is narrowing one broad rule while sharpening guidance around a named set of Huawei processors.
Saudi Arabia deals show the broader AI infrastructure push
The announcements came during Donald Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia. During that visit, several business deals were unveiled, including plans to build out AI infrastructure through the new state-owned company Humain.
Those plans involve hundreds of thousands of Nvidia chips. The timing places the Huawei guidance and the repeal of the "AI Diffusion Rule" alongside a major push for AI infrastructure using Nvidia hardware.
The source does not say that these developments are legally linked. But together, they show how AI chip policy, export controls, and infrastructure deals are now moving through the same strategic space.
What this means for AI chip buyers
For companies and governments watching the AI hardware market, the immediate message is practical. Huawei's Ascend 910B, 910C, and 910D are now explicitly named in US export-control guidance, and the BIS has tied them to US technology or US-made software used in manufacturing equipment.
At the same time, the removal of the "AI Diffusion Rule" changes the broader export landscape for AI chips. A rule that would have restricted exports to many countries, with tighter limits for China and Russia, is no longer moving forward as planned.
The combined effect is a more selective approach. Instead of one broad rule defining much of the AI chip export environment, the current signal from the Commerce Department puts special emphasis on Huawei's Ascend processors while stepping away from the Biden administration's wider rule.
That leaves AI hardware decisions tied closely to compliance questions. For Ascend processors in particular, the question is no longer only whether the chips can compete technically. It is also whether using them creates exposure under US export controls.