Tuberville and Ricketts fight for American technology dominance

April 15, 2025 – WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) joined U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-Nebraska) in sending a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick regarding the Biden administration's AI Diffusion Rule (AIDR).

In the letter the Senators called on President Trump's administration to withdraw Biden's overly restrictive rule and propose an alternative that is effective in preventing Communist China from capturing the world market in leading technology.

"We applaud President Trump's commitment to ensuring American dominance in the tech sector," Senators Tuberville and Ricketts wrote. "Today, we are in an enviable position: American companies dominate in crucial areas that will define tomorrow's economy including semiconductor design, compute infrastructure, and artificial intelligence (AI). This leadership position has been hard fought. Maintaining and growing our tech lead requires diligently advancing an American-led, global ecosystem around the world."

"With the compliance deadline of May 15, 2025, rapidly approaching, immediate action is necessary to prevent irreversible damage to American innovation and competitiveness," the Senators continue. "Every day this rule remains in place, American companies face mounting uncertainty, stalled investments, and the risk of losing critical global partnerships that cannot be easily regained. Therefore, we urge you to withdraw this rule and propose an alternative that is effective in preventing Communist China from capturing the world market in a leading technology without compromising American advantages."

Sens. Tuberville and Ricketts were joined by Sens. Ted Budd (R-North Carolina), Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma, Eric Schmitt (R-Missouri), Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina), and Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi) in signing the letter.

The full letter is below:

"Dear Secretary Lutnick:

We applaud President Trump's commitment to ensuring American dominance in the tech sector. Today, we are in an enviable position: American companies dominate in crucial areas that will define tomorrow's economy including semiconductor design, compute infrastructure, and artificial intelligence (AI). This leadership position has been hard fought. Maintaining and growing our tech lead requires diligently advancing an American-led, global ecosystem around the world.

Concerningly, President Biden's recently issued Artificial Intelligence Diffusion Rule (AIDR) threatens to undermine this leadership and advancement. Among other things, the rule categorizes countries into three tiers, imposing complex restrictions on the purchase of U.S. technology. Only Tier 1 countries-limited to just 18 nations-would have access to American technology. Even these 18 would only have access if they comply with a burdensome and ever-evolving set of federal regulations. The vast majority of nations fall into Tier 2. These countries face arbitrary purchase limits and a cumbersome licensing process to acquire U.S. computing technologies. Strikingly, key allies and partners like Israel have been inexplicably excluded from the top tier and placed into Tier 2. Tier 3 countries, including Communist China, are already rightly restricted.

While the AIDR claims to provide secure ecosystems for the responsible diffusion of AI, this rushed midnight rule's impact and overly broad scope will result in consequences that divorce it from its intent. Fundamentally, the rule places burdensome constraints on U.S. companies that would be difficult to comply with and even harder for the Federal government to enforce. Buyers, particularly in Tier 2 countries that are constrained from purchasing U.S. technology, would be incentivized to turn to Communist China's unregulated, cheap substitutes. Additionally, technology companies in Tier 2 countries could be motivated to create their own AI technology stack that is outside our export control regime. Neither outcome furthers our nation's long-term economic and national security goals.

With the compliance deadline of May 15, 2025, rapidly approaching, immediate action is necessary to prevent irreversible damage to American innovation and competitiveness. Every day this rule remains in place, American companies face mounting uncertainty, stalled investments, and the risk of losing critical global partnerships that cannot be easily regained. Therefore, we urge you to withdraw this rule and propose an alternative that is effective in preventing Communist China from capturing the world market in a leading technology without compromising American advantages.