Notice2026-06952
American AI Exports Program; Call for Proposals for Pre-Set Consortia
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
April 10, 2026
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The Department of Commerce (the Department), through the International Trade Administration (ITA), invites proposals for full- stack American AI export packages from industry-led `pre-set' consortia for designation under the American Artificial Intelligence (AI) Exports Program (the Program) established pursuant to Executive Order 14320, "Promoting the Export of the American AI Technology Stack." A designated package will be presented by U.S. Government representatives as a standing, full-stack American AI export package and may receive priority government advocacy, export licensing review and processing, interagency coordination, and financing referrals, subject to applicable law. Designation does not guarantee any particular form of federal assistance, financing, license approval, advocacy outcomes, or a contract award.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 69 (Friday, April 10, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 69 (Friday, April 10, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18412-18416]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-06952]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[Docket No. 260401-0092]
American AI Exports Program; Call for Proposals for Pre-Set
Consortia
AGENCY: International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of call for proposals.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department), through the
International Trade Administration (ITA), invites proposals for full-
stack American AI export packages from industry-led `pre-set' consortia
for designation under the American Artificial Intelligence (AI) Exports
Program (the Program) established pursuant to Executive Order 14320,
``Promoting the Export of the American AI Technology Stack.'' A
designated package will be presented by U.S. Government representatives
as a standing, full-stack American AI export package and may receive
priority government advocacy, export licensing review and processing,
interagency coordination, and financing referrals, subject to
applicable law. Designation does not guarantee any particular form of
federal assistance, financing, license approval, advocacy outcomes, or
a contract award.
DATES: Proposal filing window: This call for proposals opens on April
1, 2026 and proposals will be accepted until 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight
Time on June 30, 2026. The Department will consider proposals on a
rolling basis for inclusion in the Program. For all proposals, the
Department intends to complete an initial completeness review
[[Page 18413]]
within 14 business days of receipt. Once a proposal is deemed complete,
the Department intends to issue a designation decision within 60
calendar days.
Question and answer period: See Section XI of this notice.
ADDRESSES: Submit proposals electronically through the American AI
Exports Program submission portal at <a href="https://aiexports.gov/consortia/apply">https://aiexports.gov/consortia/apply</a>. The portal will include filing instructions, including
instructions for submitting confidential commercial information through
the portal. The Department will post program updates and public
question-and-answer materials at <a href="https://aiexports.gov/ai-consortia">https://aiexports.gov/ai-consortia</a>.
Email or paper delivery will not substitute for formal submission
through the portal.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brandon Remington, AI Exports Team,
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401
Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: 202-839-0393;
email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b0d2c2d1ded4dfde9ec2d5ddd9ded7c4dfdef0c4c2d1d4d59ed7dfc6"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="8be9f9eae5efe4e5a5f9eee6e2e5ecffe4e5cbfff9eaefeea5ece4fd">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background and Purpose
Executive Order 14320 directs the Department of Commerce to promote
the export of full-stack American AI technology packages to preserve
and extend American leadership in AI and decrease international
dependence on AI technologies developed by our adversaries. The
Secretary of Commerce was tasked, in consultation with the Secretaries
of State, War, and Energy, and the Director of the Office of Science
and Technology Policy, to evaluate and select industry-led proposals
for designation under the American AI Exports Program. This notice
implements that directive and enables the creation of a menu of
priority AI export packages that the U.S. Government will promote to
allies and partners around the world.
`Pre-set' consortia are standing teams of AI companies organized to
offer a complete American AI technology stack to foreign markets on an
ongoing basis. A pre-set consortium is not required to identify a
single opportunity or a named foreign buyer in applying. Rather, a pre-
set consortium is applying for its full-stack export package to be
available for presentation by the United States as part of its menu of
vetted, full-stack AI export packages for foreign public- and private-
sector buyers in global, regional, or country-specific markets.
The Department expects future Federal Register notices, program
guidance, or both to address `on-demand' consortia formed for specific
foreign opportunities. Further information will be provided as those
opportunities arise.
II. Scope of Eligible Pre-Set Consortia
An eligible pre-set consortium must be able to deliver a full-stack
AI technology package, as defined in Section III, to one or more
foreign markets. A consortium does not require any particular legal
structure, and there is no minimum or maximum number of consortium
members. For each layer of the full stack AI technology package
described in Section III, the entity providing the greatest share of
the package's products and services by value for that layer \1\ must be
a member of the consortium. A consortium member can provide products or
services across more than one layer.
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\1\ For purposes of this measurement, proposals should use the
ex-factory prices of goods and contract value of services, as
discussed at <a href="https://www.trade.gov/determine-cs-eligibility?anchor=content-node-t14-field-lp-region-2-2">https://www.trade.gov/determine-cs-eligibility?anchor=content-node-t14-field-lp-region-2-2</a> under ``Fee-
Based Export Promotion Assistance,''
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For the purposes of this proposal, subcontractors and local
implementation partners (i.e., entities located in the intended export
market and providing local deployment, integration, training,
maintenance, or similar support) that are not consortium members do not
need to be identified except to the extent that their identification is
necessary to calculate U.S. hardware content, as outlined in Section
IV.
Each consortium must identify a single ``anchor member.'' The
anchor member is the lead entity for the consortium, will be
responsible for submitting the proposal, and will be the single point
of contact for the Program. To qualify as an anchor member, an entity
must:
1. Affirm it has experience providing products or services
internationally and the organizational capacity to manage multi-country
delivery for that layer;
2. Be organized under the laws of the United States or a State
thereof, with its principal place of business in the United States. Any
subsidiary, affiliate, or branch whose ultimate parent entity is
organized under the laws of a foreign jurisdiction or has its principal
place of business outside the United States is ineligible to be an
anchor member; and
3. Not be (1) incorporated or have its principal place of business
in a country of concern, as defined in Sec. 8521 of the 2026 National
Defense Authorization Act (Pub. L. 119-60); or (2) owned or controlled
through a majority voting or equity interest by a country of concern or
by an entity or national of a country of concern.
An entity may participate in more than one consortium
simultaneously and need not serve the same role in all consortia.
A. National Champion Enterprises
Foreign entities may be members of a consortium, subject to the
limitations in Section IV. In exceptional cases, the Department may, in
consultation with the Departments of Energy, State, War, and the Office
of Science and Technology Policy, on a case-by-case basis, designate a
package for inclusion in the Program in which a foreign enterprise is
the provider of the highest value of products and services for the
functions described in Layer 1, as described in Section III, and/or
provides the AI models and systems in Layer 3. The Department may make
such designations where the Secretary of Commerce determines, in
consultation with the Departments of Energy, State, War, and the Office
of Science and Technology Policy, that designation of the package,
including the participation of the foreign enterprise(s), advances the
national interest of the United States. The foreign enterprises
providing the highest value products and services for Layers 1 and 3 as
described in these packages will be known as ``National Champion
Enterprises''(NCEs).Section IX.
Consortia with foreign firms may only be designated as NCEs for
packages for their home country and may not be designated as NCEs for
packages intended for other countries.
Each proposal should identify whether it wishes to have foreign
firms included as NCEs for a package. If so, the proposal should
identify those firms it wishes to be considered NCEs, and the national
interest statement described in section VI(6) should explicitly outline
why inclusion of the NCE advances the national interest.
III. Full-Stack AI Technology Package
For purposes of this notice, a full-stack AI technology package is
an integrated offering that provides products or services for the
functions described in each layer of the AI stack for one or more
target foreign markets. The five layers required are:
1. AI-optimized hardware and related infrastructure, including
chips, servers, accelerators, data center storage, cloud services,
networking;
2. Data pipelines and labeling systems;
3. AI models and systems;
[[Page 18414]]
4. Security and cybersecurity measures for AI models and systems;
and
5. AI applications for sector-specific or functional use cases
(e.g., software engineering, education, healthcare, agriculture,
finance, law, defense, government administration, or transportation).
A pre-set consortium must provide products or services for the
functions described across all five layers, even if any individual
transaction later uses only a subset of those layers. The Department
will interpret the definition of these layers expansively to enable
proposals to represent practically deployable AI products and services.
IV. Content and Ownership
Proposals are designated based on a national interest determination
by the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Secretaries of
State, War, and Energy, and the Director of the Office of Science and
Technology Policy. A proposal is eligible for a national interest
analysis if it meets the requirements under subsections (B) and (D)
below. Subsections (A) and (C) are also required unless a national
interest determination provides for an exception on a case-by-case
basis, as described in Section II.A (National Champion Enterprises).
A. Hardware
A proposal will be presumed to satisfy the U.S. content component
of the national interest determination under Section IX if, through
reasonable efforts, it demonstrates that U.S. content \2\ comprises at
least 51 percent of the aggregate value of the hardware portion of the
proposal (Layer 1 identified in Section III). If the Department of
Commerce learns that the hardware portion of the proposal is not at
least 51 percent U.S. content, the Department may contact the proposer
to request adjustments.
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\2\ U.S. content is the percentage of value originating from
U.S.-based manufacturing, which includes costs associated with U.S.
inputs, U.S. assembly, and U.S. services associated with the
manufacturing, as defined at <a href="https://www.trade.gov/determine-cs-eligibility?anchor=content-node-t14-field-lp-region-2-2">https://www.trade.gov/determine-cs-eligibility?anchor=content-node-t14-field-lp-region-2-2</a> under ``Fee-
Based Export Promotion Assistance.''
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Products and services included in the package for functions under
Layer 1 must be specifically disclosed if provided by an entity,
whether a consortium member or not, that is (1) incorporated or have
its principal place of business in a country of concern, as defined in
Sec. 8521 of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (Pub. L. 119-
60); or (2) owned or controlled through a majority voting or equity
interest by a country of concern or by an entity or national of a
country of concern.
B. Data, Software, Cybersecurity, and Application-layers Control and
Standards Test
Each consortium member that provides products or services for the
functions described in layers 2, 4 and 5 must:
Not be (1) incorporated or have its principal place of business in
a country of concern, as defined in Sec. 8521 of the 2026 National
Defense Authorization Act (Pub. L. 119-60); or (2) owned or controlled
through a majority voting or equity interest by a country of concern or
by an entity or national of a country of concern.
As part of the proposal, the consortium's anchor member must also
describe the privacy and security measures that the consortium will
include as part of the export package to secure the provided software
and AI systems.
C. AI Model Ownership and Control
For AI models and systems, any entity that owns the intellectual
property for the model (1) must not be owned or controlled through a
voting or ownership interest by a country of concern or by an entity or
national of a country of concern and (2) must be at least 51 percent
owned and controlled by U.S. persons or entities. For open-weight
models, requirement (2) may instead be satisfied if an entity meeting
requirements (1) and (2) provides the deployment, integration, fine-
tuning, security, and support functions necessary to make the model
part of the package. The Department will not designate any consortium
with open-weight models developed by entities that are (1) incorporated
or have its principal place of business in a country of concern, as
defined in Sec. 8521 of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act
(Pub. L. 119-60); or (2) owned or controlled through a majority voting
or equity interest by a country of concern or by an entity or national
of a country of concern.
D. No Country of Concern
A consortium may not include members, subcontractors, or local
implementation partners that are (1) incorporated or have their
principal place of business in a country of concern, as defined in Sec.
8521 of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (Pub. L. 119-60);
or (2) owned or controlled through a majority voting or equity interest
by a country of concern or by an entity or national of a country of
concern.
V. Target Markets and Market Positioning
Each proposal must identify at least one target country or regional
bloc for which its package is intended--its ``target markets.'' Each
proposal much identify relevant foreign competition in the target
markets, and why the proposed offering would advance U.S. national
interests in those markets, but identifying current foreign buyers is
not required. Proposals identifying markets with demonstrated demand,
and in which U.S. engagement can materially influence decisions when a
procuring entity is choosing between American and foreign technology
originating in a country of concern, will generally present a stronger
national interest case, but the Department, in consultation with the
Departments of State, War, and Energy, and the Office of Science and
Technology Policy, may designate proposals for any foreign market where
designation would advance the national interest.
VI. Proposal Contents and Formatting
All proposal materials should be submitted electronically through
the AI Exports Program submission portal at <a href="https://aiexports.gov/consortia/apply">https://aiexports.gov/consortia/apply</a>. The Proposal application must include, at a minimum,
the following:
1. Consortium overview. The consortium name; identification of the
anchor member and attestations that the anchor member has the
qualifications outlined under Section II; and a listing of all
consortium members, their roles, the stack layers in which they provide
products or services, and whether the consortium wishes to designate
any members as NCEs. This should include relevant ownership and control
information sufficient to determine compliance with Section IV;
2. Full-stack package description. A concise narrative describing
the integrated technology offering across all required five layers,
addressing how products and services pertaining to functions described
in the technology stack layers will be provided, down to the two
highest-value providers of products and services in each layer after
the listed consortia members in Layers 1, 2, and 5. This should include
a description, valuation, and percentage of U.S. hardware content. It
should also include a description of the privacy and security measures
that the consortium will include as part of the export package, and the
American cybersecurity standards, or comparable frameworks appropriate
to the target
[[Page 18415]]
market, that those measures would comply with;
3. Target markets. The global, regional, or country markets for
which the offering is intended;
4. Business and operational model. A high-level explanation of
which entities will build, own, operate, deliver, and support the
package, including any relevant infrastructure, cloud, or managed-
service arrangements;
5. Requested Federal support. Identification of the types of
Federal support that would be most useful if the proposal is
designated, which may include export-control engagement, financing
referrals, government-to-government engagement, technical assistance,
direct loans or loan guarantees, equity investments, co-financing,
political risk insurance, credit guarantees, feasibility studies, or
other forms of assistance;
6. National interest statement. A description of how the proposal
advances the policy objectives of Executive Order 14320;
7. Country of concern disclosures. A description of specific
products or services for functions under Layer 1 if provided by an
entity that is (1) incorporated or has its principal place of business
in a country of concern, as defined in Sec. 8521 of the 2026 National
Defense Authorization Act (Pub. L. 119-60); or (2) owned or controlled
through a majority voting or equity interest by a country of concern or
by an entity or national of a country of concern.
8. Export-control compliance and national security information.
Identification of items, destinations, end uses, end users, or
technical features that may implicate the Export Administration
Regulations (EAR), the International Traffic in Arms Regulations
(ITAR), U.S. outbound investment regulations, end-user restrictions, or
other national security controls; and a description of the consortium's
compliance program. Recognizing that proposers may not yet know the end
users, preliminary information other than the end user will suffice to
make the anticipated license review process more efficient.
In addition, as part of the Proposal Narrative, proposers may
submit the following optional items:
1. Letters of intent or other evidence of buyer interest;
2. Descriptions of local implementation partners;
3. Workforce-training or capacity-building components; and
4. Energy, telecommunications, fiber, or other enabling-
infrastructure considerations.
VII. Submission Instructions and Public-Docket Procedures
Formal submission must occur through the AI Exports Program
submission portal at <a href="https://aiexports.gov/consortia/apply">https://aiexports.gov/consortia/apply</a>. The
Department intends to protect properly submitted confidential
commercial information and export-control-sensitive information to the
extent permitted by law, including applicable FOIA exemptions and other
lawful protections. Proposers are responsible for properly identifying
such information at the time of submission.
The Department may disregard confidentiality claims that are not
properly supported. The Department may share proposals, including
nonpublic material, with other Federal agencies and contractors
involved in reviewing or supporting the Program, subject to applicable
confidentiality protections.
VIII. Benefits of Designation
Designation under the Program is intended to place a package on the
United States Government-supported menu of standing American AI
packages that may be promoted to foreign buyers and visible to the
public. If designated, a package will receive one or more of the
following, when in the U.S. interest as determined by U.S. government
officials:
1. Priority government-to-government engagement, including
introductions to foreign counterparts and support for appropriate
advocacy in connection with specific opportunities;
2. Opportunities to be presented at or through Program activities
and events;
3. Priority consideration for transaction-specific export-control
engagement, including prioritized review processes for linked license
applications as permitted by law and agency procedure; and
4. Priority routing for available Federal financing referrals and
interagency coordination, where requested, subject to each agency's
independent statutory authorities, underwriting standards, and Program
requirements.
Designation does not:
1. Guarantee the approval of an export license or other
authorization;
2. Guarantee financing, insurance, technical assistance, or any
other Federal support;
3. Guarantee that the United States will advocate for a consortium
in any specific manner or engagement;
4. Guarantee that a foreign buyer will select the designated
consortium; or
5. Limit the Department's discretion to support another designated
consortium or other U.S. companies seeking specific opportunities
outside of the Program when doing so is in the national interest.
IX. National Interest Assessment and Designation Determination
For eligible proposals, the Department, in consultation with the
Departments of State, War, and Energy, and the Office of Science and
Technology Policy, will make designation decisions through a national
interest determination that considers whether a proposal will advance
the objectives outlined in Executive Order 14320. The Department will
not rank proposals under a fixed scoring formula, and no single factor
is necessarily dispositive. Any proposal determined to be in the
national interest will be designated. A proposal that undertakes
reasonable efforts to satisfy the 51 percent hardware U.S.-content
presumption is not automatically entitled to designation, and a
proposal that does not satisfy that presumption is not automatically
disqualified. In making designation decisions, the Department will
consider:
1. Compliance with Program requirements;
2. Potential to advance the policy goals of Executive Order 14320;
3. National security posture, including export-control, end-use,
end-user, cybersecurity, and other risk-mitigation considerations; and
4. Cybersecurity architecture and standards alignment, including
whether the proposal addresses the cybersecurity layer and advances
outcomes consistent with American standards, including the NIST
Cybersecurity Framework, NIST Special Publication 800-53B, or
comparable frameworks appropriate to the target markets.
The relative weight given to these considerations may vary
depending on the proposal, the target market, and the national interest
as determined by the Department, in consultation with the Departments
of State, War, and Energy, and the Office of Science and Technology
Policy.
X. Review Process, Notification, and Resubmission
The National AI Center will serve as the initial intake and
coordination point for proposals filed under this notice.
A. Completeness Review
Within 14 days of receipt, the Department will determine whether a
submission meets the minimum requirements set out in this notice. The
Department may request clarifying
[[Page 18416]]
information before determining that a submission is complete.
B. Substantive Review
After a proposal is determined to be complete, the Department will
conduct a substantive review in consultation with the Departments of
State, War, and Energy, and the Office of Science and Technology
Policy, as appropriate to the issues presented.
C. Decision Timing
The Department intends to issue a designation decision within 60
calendar days.
D. Notification
Proposers of selected packages will receive written notice of
designation and next-step guidance on engaging with the Department of
Commerce. Proposers of packages that are not selected will receive
notice of non-selection and may resubmit revised proposals with a
concise explanation of material changes.
E. No Fixed Cap
There is no numerical cap on the number of packages that may be
designated under this notice.
XI. Public Questions and Answers
Beginning April 1, 2026, and through the application period, the
Department will accept public questions regarding this notice. The
Department intends to publish responses, as appropriate, on a rolling
basis at <a href="https://aiexports.gov/faq">https://aiexports.gov/faq</a>. The Department may decline to
answer questions that request confidential treatment, seek transaction-
specific legal advice, or would materially prejudice a fair and orderly
proposal process.
XII. Export Controls, Outbound Investment, Antitrust, FOIA, and Other
Legal Terms
A. Export Controls and National Security
All proposal-related activities and any resulting transactions must
comply with all applicable U.S. national security laws and regulations,
including the EAR, the ITAR, U.S. outbound investment regulations, end-
user requirements, and export license conditions.
B. Antitrust
Formation of, participation in, or designation of a consortium
under this notice does not confer antitrust immunity or any exemption
from other applicable laws. Members remain responsible for compliance
with antitrust and competition law.
C. Confidentiality and FOIA
Information submitted under this notice may be subject to
disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) (FOIA).
The Department intends to protect properly submitted confidential
commercial information, export-control-sensitive information, or other
non-public information to the extent permitted by law, including
applicable FOIA exemptions and other lawful protections. Proposers are
responsible for properly identifying such information at the time of
submission.
D. No Obligation
This notice does not obligate the United States Government to
designate any proposal, to provide any specific form of support, or to
enter into any contract, financing arrangement, or other transaction.
E. Costs
The United States Government will not reimburse any costs incurred
in preparing, submitting, supplementing, or revising a proposal.
F. Modifications
The Department may modify, suspend, or terminate this call for
proposals by subsequent notice in the Federal Register or by other
public Program guidance, as appropriate.
William Kimmitt,
Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, U.S. Department of
Commerce.
[FR Doc. 2026-06952 Filed 4-9-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-P
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