WASHINGTON, DC: The Trump administration is drafting a ban on U.S. imports of new models of Chinese data center components to protect the infrastructure underpinning the artificial intelligence boom, according to four people familiar with the matter.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which oversees the U.S. telecommunications industry, is working on a measure that would bar imports of new Chinese optical transceivers, which allow data to travel over fiber-optic cables within data centers. Officials hope to publish the measure this year, after which it would take effect.

The proposal, which has not previously been reported, aims to prevent Chinese firms from stealing data, installing malware or disrupting services at U.S. data centers that house the chips used to train and run AI models.

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions are sensitive, said the FCC could still modify or shelve the proposal.

The move is the latest effort by the Trump administration to limit Chinese technology from becoming embedded in critical U.S. industries before it gains a larger foothold in supply chains.

The White House and the FCC did not respond to requests for comment.

The Chinese embassy in Washington urged the United States to "heed the objective and rational voices of the business communities in both countries" and "stop smearing Chinese companies and threatening them with sanctions."

"China will take all necessary measures in response to any action that causes material harm to its interests," the embassy added.

A U.S. ban on new models of Chinese data center devices would likely affect Zhongji Innolight, one of the world's largest suppliers of optical transceivers. The company was added to the Pentagon's list of alleged Chinese military-backed companies in June. Innolight did not respond to requests for comment.

The proposed restrictions could also raise costs for American cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services by requiring them to shift purchases to other suppliers. Amazon Web Services, Coherent and Lumentum did not respond to requests for comment.

According to three of the sources, the FCC's proposal would ban imports of new transceiver models while exempting many non-Chinese suppliers from the restrictions.

The FCC has previously imposed similar restrictions on Chinese drones, routers, robots and power inverters. Reuters reported earlier that the agency announced bans on Chinese drones and routers through its Covered List, with restrictions on Chinese inverters and robots following last week.