U.S. export controls need to 'change constantly' even if it's tough for businesses, Secretary Raimondo says

cnbc.com:

BEIJING — More controls on tech exports to China will be coming as needed, despite business concerns, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told CNBC in an exclusive interview.

«We have to change constantly,» Raimondo told CNBC's Morgan Brennan over the weekend on the sidelines of the Reagan National Defense Forum.

«I know that's hard for industry. They want a clear line in the sand,» the commerce secretary said. «The truth of it is though, technology changes, China changes and we have to keep up with it.»

In October 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security announced sweeping export controls that restrict the ability of companies to sell certain advanced computing semiconductors or related manufacturing equipment to China.

«It was a bold move, but we thought it was necessary because these semiconductors are unbelievably powerful, and we can't afford to let them get into the wrong hands,» Raimondo said, acknowledging that «the threat from China is large and growing.»

The U.S. has said it's focused on restricting China's military, but the controls also come as both countries seek to develop their artificial intelligence capabilities in the wake of OpenAI's launch of ChatGPT.

During a defense forum panel Brennan moderated on Saturday, Raimondo also said she is working on a new way to restrict China's access to certain technologies by setting up «a continuous dialogue» between business and government engineers.

«If you redesign a chip around a particular cut line that enables [China] to do AI I'm going to control it the very next day,» Raimondo said.

U.S. chipmaking giant Nvidia last month reportedly delayed the launch of a new AI chip for China that had been designed to technically comply with