Just days after confirming that the White House has struck a revenue-sharing deal with AMD and Nvidia in exchange for AI chip export licenses, Washington seems to have confirmed that it hasn't quite worked out the mechanics of the legalities behind the measure. While the President and the two AI chip makers have seemingly agreed to this agreement in principle, its unprecedented nature has come under considerable scrutiny from the outside. Now, CNBC reports that even the White House is still trying to work out its details, including its legality.
Legal experts have pointed out that Article I, Section 9, of the U.S. Constitution says, “No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.” This is also known as the Export Clause, and it has previously been tested in the U.S. Supreme Court, when the federal government attempted to impose a Harbor Maintenance Tax based on the value of cargo passing through American ports — including exports. In 1998, an exporter challenged the export tax, which was styled as a user fee set at 0.125% of the cargo's value, and the Supreme Court sided with it.
