Trump signs executive orders on AI exports and data centers
Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios
President Trump signed executive orders on Wednesday aimed at helping to deploy U.S. tech around the world and build data centers in the U.S.
Why it matters: The executive orders lay out Trump's approach to AI exports and infrastructure, with a distinct focus on easing regulations.
Driving the news: Trump signed these EOs alongside another executive order seeking to bar "woke" AI from receiving federal contacts.
- Earlier on Wednesday, the White House released its AI action plan centered on beating China and accelerating the tech's advancement.
What's inside: The export regime executive order stands up a new program that will assess whether a full-stack AI technology package will get priority access to federal financing tools.
- The EO tasks Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick with establishing this new "American AI Exports Program" and issuing a public call for proposals to be "designated as priority AI export packages."
- These would be able to benefit from a host of federal financing tools including direct loans and loan guarantees, equity investments, co-financing, political risk insurance, and credit guarantees, per the EO.
Catch up quick: Citing national security concerns, the Biden administration sought to cut off China's access to advanced U.S. tech through third countries by implementing a global licensing regime known as the AI diffusion rule.
- Trump scrapped the rule in May.
- This latest move is in line with recent actions by the president to open up global access to U.S. tech, including signing an AI deal with the UAE and allowing Nvidia to export certain chips to China again.
What they're saying: "The last administration was obsessed with imposing restrictions on AI, including extreme restrictions on its exports," Trump said on Wednesday ahead of signing the EO.
- "As you know, they made it very difficult to export. This alienated American partners and drove even our friends into the arms of China and other countries. That's why upon taking office I repealed the so-called Biden diffusion rule."
The EO addressing data centers calls for accelerating federal permitting of infrastructure.
- The AI action plan recommended that federal lands be made available for data center construction, stating that "America's environmental permitting system and other regulations make it almost impossible to build this infrastructure in the United States with the speed that is required."
- The EO states that the Interior and Energy Departments should offer up appropriate sites for qualifying projects.
Context: Just before then-President Biden left office, he also issued an EO to accelerate the construction of large-scale data centers and clean energy facilities on federal lands.
- Trump rescinded that in Wednesday's executive order.
"It will be a priority of my Administration to facilitate the rapid and efficient buildout of this infrastructure by easing Federal regulatory burdens," Trump's EO states.
