It is exactly that. US AI companies cannot compete with Chinese models because they are obviously way cheaper. That's the only reason why this is being done. Everyone with 2 brain cells to rub together knew this was coming. This is my comment from 17 days ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49956717

> Protectionism is an economic policy where a government tries to protect domestic businesses and industries from foreign competition

This is exactly that.