The Trump administration launched the American AI Exports Program with a straightforward enough ambition: make US artificial intelligence the world’s default technology. The results from the first application round suggest the ambition may have outpaced the execution.
The Commerce Department received just 78 applications when the program’s first call for proposals closed, according to reporting from Politico citing three former department officials. Internal expectations had been for hundreds of applications.
What the program actually does
The American AI Exports Program was created by Executive Order on July 23, 2025, under President Trump. The formal application window opened April 1, 2026, and ran for 90 days before closing.
Selected companies, organized into consortia, would receive expedited export licensing through the Bureau of Industry and Security, preferential access to federal financing through institutions like the Export-Import Bank, and coordinated government advocacy in foreign markets.
