U.S. government lifts export controls on Anthropic’s Claude Mythos 5 model for ‘trusted’ U.S. partners

The U.S. Department of Commerce informed Anthropic on Friday that export controls on its Claude Mythos 5 model were lifted, permitting its release to more than 100 U.S. institutions, including major companies and government agencies. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick cited "appropriate safeguards" and "significant progress" in daily negotiations with Anthropic as the basis for the decision.

The move reverses a two-week-old standoff in which the Trump administration imposed export controls on Mythos, leading to a temporary halt in access to the model and its weaker counterpart, Fable 5. The letter from Lutnick to Anthropic’s chief compute officer, Tom Brown, stated that the decision was made after determining that safeguards were in place to permit trusted partners to access the model.

Anthropic also committed to "work with the U.S. government on protocols and standards and releases" for its models, according to the letter. The framework outlined in the letter removes the requirement for a license to export, reexport, or transfer the Claude Mythos 5 model to entities listed in an accompanying annex and their foreign national employees, as well as to Anthropic’s foreign national employees.

The rapid resolution follows intense negotiations between the Commerce Department and Anthropic. A Commerce Department spokesman, Benno Kass, emphasized the speed of the government’s response, stating, "In just two weeks, we have worked diligently to ensure America remains the global leader in AI while safeguarding our security."

The decision introduces a new regulatory regime that gives the U.S. government direct control over the release of frontier AI models. While the framework is being built incrementally, many users—including non-U.S. governments, companies, and consumers—remain uncertain about when they will gain access to Mythos or its counterpart, Fable 5.

European officials and U.S. allies have expressed frustration over their reliance on Washington’s decisions regarding access to these advanced models. The U.S. government had previously raised concerns about Mythos being released to partners with ties to China, reportedly referencing a South Korean telecommunications provider.