Today, Lawfare published LASST’s Programs Director, Vivian Dong’s article “Trump’s Illegal AI Chip Export Controls, and Who Can Challenge Them”. You can read it here.
She argues that not only are the export tariffs illegal but that they are also unconstitutional because “they are taxes created by the executive without clear congressional authorization.”
Whatever the reasoning behind the controls, as she states, “export license decisions must be made based on those merits, not to raise revenue.”
On January 20, 2026, LASST submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Commerce asking for more information regarding the controls under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (19 U.S.C. § 1862).
We will continue to update as our FOIA request returns information.