There is no single licence that clears an AI-chip shipment worldwide. As of 20 October 2026, a transaction may be subject to US EAR controls, China’s export-control measures and an EU Member State’s authorisation process at the same time. The decisive facts are the chip’s technical classification, origin and content, destination and transit route, end user, end use, and any reexport or foreign-produced-item connection.
Why one AI-chip shipment can face three rulebooks
Export control follows more than the country where a box is handed to a carrier. The United States can regulate items through the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), including certain reexports and foreign-produced items, when the technical classification, destination, ownership, end use or end user creates a US connection. China’s regime looks at China-origin goods, covered Chinese content in some foreign-produced goods, sensitive end users and end uses, and listed technologies and materials. The European Union applies a common dual-use framework, but licences are issued through the competent authority of the Member State handling the transaction.
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That means a chip designed in one country, fabricated in another, integrated into a server in a third and shipped through a fourth can trigger several independent reviews. A licence, exception or no-licence finding under one system does not replace the analysis required under the others.
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Comparison at a glance
| Axis | United States | China | European Union |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal vehicle | EAR, administered by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), including licence exceptions | Export-control and Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) dual-use measures | Regulation (EU) 2021/821, supplemented by delegated updates to the control list |
| Main triggers | Technical performance, ECCN, destination, end user, end use, reexport and foreign-produced-item rules | China origin or covered Chinese content, listed technologies or materials, end user and end use | Listed dual-use item plus export, brokering, technical assistance, transit or transfer activity |
| Current AI-chip example | Nvidia H200, AMD MI325X and similar commodities moved to conditional case-by-case review for China and Macau on 13 January 2026 | 14 nm-or-below logic chips, 256-layer-or-more memory and specified military-AI uses face a stated presumption that a licence will not be issued | Annex I evolves through delegated acts; Regulation 2025/2003 was the latest cited September 2025 update |
| Practical burden | Detailed technical classification, customer screening, licence or exception analysis and reexport controls | Origin and content tracing, end-use and end-user diligence and MOFCOM licensing | Common classification followed by national licensing procedures and possible controls on related services |
United States: EAR classification, destination and end-user reach
What changed on 13 January 2026
BIS announced that Nvidia H200, AMD MI325X and similar advanced-computing commodities could receive case-by-case review for China and Macau. This is not a blanket approval. The policy is conditional on supply safeguards, customer screening and independent testing. A seller must be able to demonstrate that those conditions are met for the specific transaction; the product name alone does not establish eligibility.
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BIS Under Secretary for Industry and Security Jeffrey Kessler said on 13 January 2026: “Export controls should evolve with changes in technology, while protecting national security.” The statement signals a policy that can change as performance, packaging, software and market conditions change.
The EAR questions that decide a shipment
- What is the exact item? Record the chip, board, module, server and relevant software or technology, not just a family name. Performance thresholds and technical characteristics can change the control outcome.
- What is the ECCN and US content? Determine the Export Control Classification Number (ECCN), whether the item is subject to the EAR, and whether US-origin components, software or technology create a controlled foreign-produced item.
- Where is it going, and where will it go next? Destination, transit points, reexport plans and the headquarters or ownership of parties can affect licensing and notification requirements.
- Who will receive and use it? Screen the purchaser, ultimate consignee, end user and beneficial owners, then verify the stated end use. A permissible destination does not cure a prohibited end user or end use.
- Is an authorisation available? Analyse a licence, licence exception or notification route against the exact ECCN and facts. Exceptions are not interchangeable, and some carry reporting, recordkeeping or destination restrictions.
What the US policy does not mean
Case-by-case review is a licensing posture, not a guaranteed licence. Two orders for the same model can receive different outcomes when customers, ownership, testing evidence, quantities, destination, integration or end use differ. A distributor should not rely on a manufacturer’s statement that a chip is “exportable” without checking the distributor’s own transaction and reexport obligations.
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US workflow for a compliance file
- Obtain the manufacturer’s technical data, classification rationale and country-of-origin information for the exact part number and configuration.
- Map every party, including brokers, freight forwarders, integrators, cloud operators and the ultimate user; document headquarters and ownership.
- Compare the technical data with the applicable ECCN and destination controls, then check whether a foreign-produced-item rule applies.
- Review end use and end user against restricted-party and military or intelligence concerns, retaining evidence rather than relying on a sales description.
- Select the correct licence, exception or notification path and complete any required BIS filing before shipment.
- Apply the same analysis to later reexports, replacements, upgrades, software updates and technical support.
China: origin, Chinese content, end use and end user
What the 9 October 2025 MOFCOM measures cover
China’s measures require licences for specified China-origin items and for some foreign-produced items containing covered Chinese content. The content analysis therefore cannot stop at the wafer-fabrication country. Bills of materials, semiconductor materials, design or manufacturing inputs and incorporation into a foreign-made product may all need review against the applicable Chinese list and thresholds.
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Materials can create a separate Chinese control issue
China also controls gallium nitride and other gallium and germanium semiconductor materials under measures introduced in 2023. A chip shipment that appears outside an AI-performance threshold can still involve controlled materials, upstream inputs or technical information. Procurement teams should therefore obtain material-origin and supplier declarations rather than treating the finished chip as the only controlled object.
China workflow
- Identify whether the item is China-origin and inventory any covered Chinese content in a foreign-produced chip, board or system.
- Match the exact product and technology to MOFCOM’s listed categories, including the 14 nm logic and 256-layer memory references where relevant.
- Investigate the end user, beneficial ownership, military connections, research affiliation and actual deployment environment.
- Describe the end use precisely. “Artificial-intelligence platform” is not enough if the system could support military-AI research or restricted applications.
- Determine whether a MOFCOM export licence is required and whether the stated no-licence presumption makes the transaction commercially impracticable.
- Keep supplier certificates, technical specifications, customer questionnaires, screening results and licence records together so the origin and content trail can be reconstructed.
Do not assume that a US licence, an EU authorisation or a foreign manufacturing location satisfies China’s requirements. China’s origin and content concepts can apply even when the exporter is not a Chinese company.
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European Union: one framework, national authorities
What Regulation (EU) 2021/821 controls
Regulation (EU) 2021/821 covers more than the physical export of a chip. It governs export, brokering, technical assistance, transit and transfer of dual-use items. A company can therefore create an authorisation issue by providing design support, remote technical assistance, arranging a brokered sale or moving goods through EU territory, even when the final customer is outside the EU.
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Keeping the EU list current
Annex I is amended through delegated acts. Regulation 2025/2003 was a September 2025 update cited for this comparison, and the EUR-Lex consolidated version of Regulation (EU) 2021/821 is dated 21 September 2026. Use the version in force for the shipment date, not an archived internal copy. A classification made before a list amendment may need to be revisited when the technical parameters or control entries change.
EU workflow
- Identify the exporting, brokering, technical-assistance, transit or transfer activity and the Member State authority with jurisdiction.
- Classify the exact chip, board, system, software or technology against the current Annex I entry and any national list.
- Check destination, end user, end use, sanctions and catch-all concerns, including possible military or weapons-related applications.
- Ask whether technical support, demonstrations, cloud access or remote maintenance are controlled services rather than ordinary customer service.
- Apply for the appropriate national authorisation or document why an available authorisation, general authorisation or non-listing conclusion applies.
- Retain the classification, customer evidence, authorisation and shipment records and repeat the analysis for transfers inside a group.
How the regimes overlap in a real supply chain
| Supply-chain fact | US question | China question | EU question |
|---|---|---|---|
| US-designed accelerator fabricated outside the US | Is it subject to the EAR, and do US content or foreign-produced-item rules control the reexport? | Does it contain covered Chinese content or use controlled Chinese materials? | Is the item listed in Annex I, and is an EU export, transfer or technical service involved? |
| Shipment routed through an EU warehouse to a Chinese integrator | Do destination, consignee, reexport and end-use rules require BIS authorisation? | Is the integrator a restricted end user, and do the chip’s performance or content trigger MOFCOM licensing? | Does transit or the EU transfer require Member-State authorisation? |
| Cloud provider offers remote access to the accelerator | Could software, technology or support be an EAR-controlled transfer? | Does the service enable a restricted end use or military-AI research? | Is remote technical assistance or transfer covered by Regulation 2021/821? |
| Gallium nitride component in an AI board | What is the ECCN and origin of the component? | Is the gallium or gallium-nitride input covered by China’s materials controls? | Is the complete board or related technology listed under the current Annex I? |
The practical result is cumulative: one regime may permit a shipment while another blocks it. Contract terms should allocate responsibility for each jurisdiction, but contractual language cannot remove a statutory licensing obligation.
A transaction checklist for businesses
- Freeze the product identity. Capture part number, revision, memory configuration, interconnect, packaging, software, firmware and system integration. Classification can change with a configuration change.
- Build an origin and content map. Record design, fabrication, assembly, testing, US-origin inputs, Chinese content, gallium or germanium materials and every country in the logistics route.
- Classify in each applicable system. Obtain the US ECCN or EAR conclusion, the China list and content analysis, and the EU Annex I or national-list result. Mark an item “not classified” only as an unresolved task, never as a clearance.
- Screen people and purposes. Identify the ultimate user and beneficial owners; validate the project, facility, model-training activity and deployment. Escalate vague, changing or inconsistent answers.
- Choose the authorisation path. Document the licence, exception, general authorisation, notification or no-licence rationale for each jurisdiction. One country’s approval cannot be copied into another file.
- Control downstream activity. Put reexport, resale, cloud access, technical support, upgrades and replacement parts under the same controls as the first shipment.
- Set a recheck date. Review the transaction immediately before shipment and whenever a rule, list, product revision, customer, route or end use changes.
Common failure modes and how to fix them
- Relying on the chip’s brand name: Use the exact technical configuration and classification; H200 or MI325X branding does not itself establish a licence outcome.
- Treating “made outside China” as a safe harbour: Trace covered Chinese content and materials and analyse China’s foreign-produced-item provisions.
- Assuming civilian status from the buyer’s industry: Verify the actual user, ownership, research programme and deployment site, especially where military-AI capability is plausible.
- Ignoring services: Review brokering, technical assistance, transit, transfers, software and remote support, not only the customs shipment.
- Using an old list: Check BIS changes, MOFCOM measures and the current EUR-Lex consolidation before every material transaction.
- Treating a licence as transferable: Authorisations are tied to specified items, parties, destinations, quantities, end uses and conditions. A new customer or route requires a fresh analysis.
- Shipping while a licence is pending: Hold the goods and technical access, document the hold, and obtain transaction-specific legal advice rather than relying on an informal assurance.
What to do before the next shipment
For a transaction planned on or after 20 October 2026, start with a three-jurisdiction matrix and assign an owner for each conclusion. Have trade counsel review borderline classifications, military or military-AI indicators, foreign-produced-item questions, Chinese-content calculations and EU national procedures. Keep the source documents that support every factual assumption, because a later audit will test the evidence, not just the conclusion.
Rules and implementation can change quickly. Recheck the live BIS, MOFCOM and EUR-Lex texts on the shipment date, and obtain transaction-specific legal advice when a chip approaches a technical threshold, a customer has government or military links, or the supply chain includes reexports, cloud access or controlled semiconductor materials.
The practical verdict
The US system is primarily threshold- and destination-driven, with substantial reexport and end-user reach. China combines origin and content rules with end-use, end-user and listed-material controls, including a stated no-licence presumption for specified military and advanced-chip scenarios. The EU supplies a common dual-use framework whose authorisations are executed by Member States and extend to services and transfers. Businesses that classify the exact item, trace origin and content, verify the real customer and purpose, document the correct authorisation in every jurisdiction and recheck the rules immediately before shipment have the best chance of avoiding a blocked delivery or an unlawful export.
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