On July 23, the White House unveiled its much-anticipated AI Action Plan, followed the same day by an Executive Order on “Promoting The Export of the American AI Technology Stack.” Following our earlier post considering the Action Plan from a multi-practice standpoint (US AI Vision in Action: What Businesses Need to Know About the White House AI Action Plan – Connect On Tech), this update focuses on the key export control provisions in the Action Plan and Executive Order for businesses developing or deploying AI.
The Action Plan has no immediate legal impact but comes as industry awaits revisions to the US Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) following the Trump Administration’s announcement in May that it would be rescinding and would not enforce the expansive Biden Administration’s AI Diffusion Rule issued in January 2025. See our blog post about that announcement here. Formal rescission of that AI Diffusion Rule still has not taken place. The AI Action Plan offers some indications of what might come next.
AI Action Plan
The Action Plan is structured around three pillars: (I) Accelerating AI Innovation, (II) Building American AI Infrastructure, and (III) Leading in International AI Diplomacy and Security. Although the AI Action Plan is not legally binding in itself, each pillar contains a number of policy recommendations and actions, which will subsequently need to be actioned by various government agencies and institutes. A significant portion of the Action Plan’s third pillar, Leading in International AI Diplomacy and Security, focuses on export control measures to prevent US adversaries from gaining access to AI technologies that may be used to harm American interests.
- Creative approaches to export control enforcement: To prevent opposing access to transformative AI technologies, the Action Plan promotes strengthening the nation’s export control strategy. It proposes the implementation of “creative” approaches to export control enforcement around AI, including location verification features on advanced AI-capable US chips and expanding end-use monitoring in high-risk regions. It also calls for the enhancement of export controls on semiconductors to address perceived gaps in existing US export controls, such as new controls on semiconductor manufacturing sub-systems.
- Collaboration to prevent diversion: The Action Plan encourages enforcement collaboration with allies to monitor for and prevent the diversion of advanced AI compute via third countries. It also recommends the development of a “carrot and stick” technology diplomacy strategic plan to encourage allies to adopt complementary, plurilateral export controls and promote strategic alignment or face expansive extraterritorial US controls on their foreign-made products via the “Foreign Direct Product Rule” or through punitive secondary tariffs.
- “Full-stack AI export packages”: The plan instructs the Department of Commerce to establish a program to gather proposals for “full-stack AI export packages” and coordinate with other federal agencies to facilitate export deals that meet security requirements. The Executive Order on Promoting the Export of the American AI Technology Stack discussed below requires the Secretary of Commerce to establish and implement an American AI Exports Program within 90 days.
- Biosecurity enforcement and screening: Picking up on ongoing national security concerns related to advancements in biotechnology, the Action Plan recommends adoption of enforcement and screening mechanisms by nucleic acid synthesis providers to guard against risks posed by fraudulent or malicious actors.
Executive Order on “Promoting the Export of the American AI Technology Stack”
The Executive Order on “Promoting the Export of the American AI Technology Stack” builds on the actions outlined in the AI Action Plan, offering more specifics on the implementation of the proposed American AI Exports Program.
- Establishing American AI Exports Program: The Executive Order requires the Secretary of Commerce to establish and implement American AI Exports Program within 90 days of the Order (i.e., October 21, 2025) to support the development and deployment of United States full-stack AI export packages. Full-stack AI technology packages should include: AI-optimized computer hardware, data center storage, cloud services, and networking; data pipelines and labeling systems; AI models and systems; measures to ensure the security and cybersecurity of AI models and systems; and AI applications for specific use cases.
- Public Engagement: The Secretary of Commerce is to issue a call for proposals for inclusion in the program. Proposals must include a full-stack AI technology package (as described above), identify specific target countries or regions for export engagement, describe business and operational models on the building and operation of data centers, detail requested Federal incentives, and comply with export control regimes, outbound investment regulations, and end-user policies. The Secretary of Commerce (in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Energy, and the Director of Office of Science and Technology Policy) is to evaluate submitted proposals.
- Federal financing tools: Priority AI export packages selected by the Secretary of Commerce will be supported by Federal financing tools including direct loans and loan guarantees, equity investments, co-financing, political risk insurance, and credit guarantees, and technical assistance and feasibility studies.
Takeaways
The AI Action Plan and Executive Order provide an articulation of the Administration’s AI policy and how the White House’s vision for American leadership in AI fits alongside trade and national security considerations. Businesses that develop or deploy AI tools should assess their supply chains and compliance programs to take account of the actions proposed by the Action Plan. Businesses should also consider the engagement and public funding opportunities outlined in the Executive Order.
While the Action Plan and Executive Order present a comprehensive vision of an approach to AI under the current Administration, it is just the beginning of the story. The ways that federal agencies implement the Action Plan and Executive Order – along with still awaited changes to export controls to replace the earlier AI Diffusion Rule, will determine the course of the AI policy under the new administration. We will continue to monitor and comment on policy, legal and regulatory developments in the AI space and their impacts on export controls, national security and sanctions matters.
