AmCham Poland Advocacy Bulletin 1/2025

U.S. restrictions on AI chips exports to Poland

AmCham Poland is involved in the issue of new export control measures for advanced microprocessors introduced by the Framework for Artificial Intelligence Diffusion. This regulation, announced by the White House on 13 January, in President’s Biden last days in the office, establishes new export control rules for advanced microprocessors. The restrictions are geographically based and leave out only 18 countries, selected according to the very vague criteria of having “robust technology protection regimes and technology ecosystems aligned with the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States” out of the scope of the tightened measures. Poland is not included in this category, despite our country’s role as a key ally of the United States in Central and Eastern Europe, the vast arms procurements made by our country in the United States in recent years, and the ever-growing presence of U.S. investors, including key technology companies.

The impact assessment of the new rules should take into account that the maximum thresholds set by the Framework cover, by a wide margin, the current demand of the Polish economy for the most modern chips. Additionally, the Framework contains a mechanism for conditionally increasing the supply limit of state-of-the-art chips. However, the failure to include Poland among the closest U.S. allies creates a negative impression and may affect bilateral relations and the perception of the U.S. in Poland. Moreover, the unavailability of free imports of the most up-to-date microprocessors may discourage investors from locating investments in Poland, especially in the industries most heavily based on semiconductors, e.g. industrial automation, artificial intelligence, and data storage.

For these reasons, AmCham has engaged in extensive consultation on the issue to ensure that the new rules do not negatively impact the ability to locate modern investments in artificial intelligence, data storage, and cloud services. We consulted this issue with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and held a meeting with the U.S. Embassy, during which we were assured that the introduced rules are not intended to limit Poland’s technological potential and will not negatively affect the situation of US investors operating in Poland.

The Framework for Artificial Intelligence Diffusion and decision to limit access to AI chips for Poland remains one of the priorities on the AmCham Poland’s advocacy agenda. We discuss this issue with representatives of the public sector and address the urgent need for building a strategic technology partnership between Poland and the U.S.

We also recommend that AmCham members provide input during the 120-day comment period of the interim rule to the Framework.

AmCham Advocacy Priorities

AmCham Legal & Public Policy team has developed a draft document outlining our key advocacy priorities for the upcoming months which focus on the following key areas:

• New Technologies & Digitalization – Strengthening Poland’s technological resilience, promoting transatlantic cooperation in AI, cybersecurity, and data privacy, and advocating for Poland’s role among the U.S.’s closest technology allies.
• Energy Sector – Supporting nuclear energy development, accelerating the green transition, and ensuring regulatory clarity to attract investments.
• Stable & Predictable Legislation – Advocating for transparent, well-consulted regulations that provide businesses with legal certainty.
• Labor Market & Education – Enhancing workforce development, simplifying visa processes for skilled specialists, and promoting digital and vocational education.
• Healthcare – Expanding access to innovative treatments, improving prevention and diagnostics, considering indirect costs in healthcare decisions, accelerating drug availability, and ensuring sustainable funding for rare disease therapies.
• Defense Sector – Facilitating U.S.-Poland defense cooperation, supporting local R&D, and positioning Poland as a regional hub for defense maintenance.
• Investment Development – Reducing administrative barriers, ensuring stable tax policies, and creating incentives for long-term investments.

The document, which can be accessed here is still open to input and will be the basis for discussion during a working meeting of AmCham’s Government Affairs and Public Policy group, which will take place on February 25.

SEP Regulation

AmCham is engaged in the debate on the EU’s Standard Essential Patents Regulation. The regulation aims to establish a transparent and fair framework for licensing patents that protect technologies essential to meeting technical standards. The introduction of a new licensing framework would significantly improve legal stability for innovative businesses, prevent patent owners from unfairly abusing their position, and reduce considerable information asymmetries that exist in this unique market. Among AmCham members, the introduction of the SEP regulation is of the greatest importance for companies in the ICT sector, but the new rules would also have a positive impact on entities in the automotive, defense, and medical devices sectors.

After the working group met and agreed on a common position, an AmCham position paper was prepared and sent to key decision makers. In response to the European Commission’s announcement that it plans to postpone work on the SEP regulation, we intend to prepare an additional letter in the coming days addressed to the Commission, representatives of the Polish Presidency of the EU Council, and Polish MEPs, calling for work on the regulation to continue. We hope that the Polish government and European decision-makers will share our position in support of the adoption of the regulation and the Polish Presidency of the EU Council will contribute to the establishment of SEP licensing rules conducive to innovation and European competitiveness.

Our position paper can be accessed here.

“Rebuild Ukraine” AmCham Working Group – meeting with Deputy CEO of KUKE

At the end of 2024 AmCham Poland held consultations on Rebuilding Ukraine among its members. We asked our members what topics they are most interested in and how AmCham can support their preparations to participate in the reconstruction of Ukraine and develop their business in the Ukrainian market. One of the most recurring topics was the issue of export insurance. In response to the need to learn more about this issue and open a dialogue with public authorities, we are organizing a working group meeting with the deputy CEO of the Export Credit Insurance Corporation (KUKE), a state-owned insurance company specializing in export insurance. The meeting is scheduled for March 5 and will be held at AmCham’s office.

Polish energy and climate policy priorities after the Manufacturing Forum

As the follow up after the Manufacturers‘ Forum that took place in October 2024, AmCham Poland prepared a position paper on the postulates of the manufacturing industry to the Polish public authorities and delivered it to the Ministry of Development and Technology as well as the Ministry of Climate. The aim of the document is to make the arguments expressed during our discussions even more audible and to share with the public sector the most important challenges of the manufacturing industry expressed during the Forum, such as combining green transformation with maintaining competitiveness, problems of rising energy and labour costs, and administrative burdens.

Position paper covers the following five main topics:

1) Accelerating the development and diversification of clean energy sources,
2) Long-term, stable, and publicly communicated plans for the types of energy sources supported,
3) Streamlining spatial and environmental planning procedures,
4) Better and more widespread consumer education,
5) Access to qualified personnel.

The entire position paper can be accessed here.