US House advances 20 bipartisan bills to restrict China's access to AI chips and technology

AI Export Control Measures Aimed at China Gain Steam in US House

The House Foreign Affairs Committee advanced a slate of bipartisan export control bills Wednesday that show a growing appetite in Congress for restricting the flow of artificial intelligence technology to China, as the Trump administration has so far held back on significant new curbs. The panel is seeking to close what Republican and Democratic members see as loopholes allowing China to access powerful US technology including Nvidia Corp. chips. The measures set the stage for objections from both the White House and industry stakeholders, who have already raised concerns about potential new limits on shipments of chip tools. Legislation approved by the panel includes proposals to increase civil penalties for export control violations and create an incentive program for whistleblowers. Those align with administration efforts to crack down on China's illicit access to chips through smuggling, akin to what US prosecutors have already alleged in charging Super Micro Computer Inc. executives with violating export controls. Other initiatives -- most notably the proposed Match Act -- signal lawmakers' discontent with what they see as administration inaction on limiting sensitive exports. That bill would direct the administration to identify chip equipment and Chinese manufacturing facilities that should be restricted while pressing allies to adopt controls just as stringent as those faced by US companies. "There is a gap here that the administration is not filling, and Congress is stepping in and is saying, 'If the administration is not going to do it, we're going to do it ourselves,'" said Chris McGuire, a senior fellow for China and emerging technologies at the Council on Foreign Relations. "These are incredibly detailed and prescriptive pieces of legislation," he added. "The reason for that is that the administration is not doing anything." Taken together, the 20 bipartisan bills cleared Wednesday mark the most significant effort by lawmakers to revamp US export control policy since 2018. The slate of legislation, alongside two other chip export measures already advanced by the panel, prime Congress for another end-of-year debate over whether to mandate tighter restrictions or leave that decision to the administration. The most contentious of those two proposals, dubbed the AI Overwatch Act, would block the administration from allowing Nvidia to sell its Blackwell AI chips to Chinese customers. It would also give Congress the power to oversee and potentially veto license applications for shipments of the company's H200 processors to China. The Chip Security Act, which requires the Commerce Department to issue anti-diversion rules in order to reduce smuggling, advanced last month with bipartisan support. Several bills from Wednesday's session would heighten enforcement efforts, including proposals to station at least 30 export control officers abroad and to increase the statute of limitations on civil prosecutions to 10 years. All the initiatives remain in the early stages and are subject to change. Whichever of the proposals survives, the annual must-pass defense package will offer the most viable path to becoming law. Last year, one chip export control proposal successfully made it into the annual defense bill negotiations. The Gain AI Act, introduced by Senator Jim Banks, an Indiana Republican, sought to give American customers first dibs on any Nvidia AI chips up for shipment to China but it faced White House opposition and was stripped out in the final stages of talks. That history portends significant obstacles ahead for the cluster of export control bills gaining momentum in the House. On the other hand, White House efforts to kill the Gain bill have galvanized lawmakers, including its original sponsor Banks and Representative Brian Mast, a Florida Republican who leads the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which has jurisdiction over export controls. The small but motivated group of hawkish Republicans has created a rare splinter with President Donald Trump, who greenlit sales of the Nvidia's H200 processors to China last year, following months of phone calls and meetings with the company's chief executive officer Jensen Huang. "To the extent the White House zigs where Congress zags, it's usually due to concerted industry lobbying,"said Samuel Hammond director of artificial intelligence policy and chief economist at the Foundation for American Innovation. "Nvidia has shot its credibility with lawmakers so they're forced to go right to the top." Spokespeople for Nvidia didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Republican lawmakers including Mast have responded to Huang's push for China sales with calculated disagreement over Trump's H200 decision. "Without export controls implemented on a bipartisan basis since the first Trump administration, China may even be beating the United States in AI today," Mast said on Wednesday. Still, the success of the bipartisan House coalition that Mast has built also hinges on Senate support. The most important senators to win over are those on the Banking Committee with export control oversight, especially its chairman, Tim Scott of South Carolina, who has remained relatively quiet on the issue. Follow the latest in global politics. Follow the latest in global politics. Follow the latest in global politics. Get insights from reporters around the world in the Balance of Power newsletter. Get insights from reporters around the world in the Balance of Power newsletter. Get insights from reporters around the world in the Balance of Power newsletter. Plus Signed UpPlus Sign UpPlus Sign Up By continuing, I agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. Key members of the panel, including Republicans Pete Ricketts and Jim Risch, alongside Democrats Andy Kim and Chuck Schumer, sponsored a Senate version of the Match Act that contains tougher provisions than its House counterpart. For the smuggling-focused Chip Security Act, Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, has backed a Senate proposal, while Banks and Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts have telegraphed plans for a version of the AI Overwatch Act. Across the House and the Senate, the bipartisan effort to close export control gaps reflects broader struggles at the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security in crafting new rules and approving licenses. The agency has been roiled by staff losses and hamstrung by whipsawing trade negotiations, especially with China. One of the bills advanced Wednesday would allow the bureau to hire as many as 25 temporary technical experts and call for it to issue quarterly reports on license processing. Other related proposals would require Commerce to boost industry engagement and modernize the bureau's information-technology systems. Spokespeople for the Commerce Department didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

AI export control measures aimed at China gain steam in U.S. House

The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee advanced a slate of bipartisan export control bills Wednesday that show a growing appetite in Congress for restricting the flow of artificial intelligence technology to China, as the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has so far held back on significant new curbs. The panel is seeking to close what Republican and Democratic members see as loopholes allowing China to access powerful U.S. technology including Nvidia chips. The measures set the stage for objections from both the White House and industry stakeholders, who have already raised concerns about potential new limits on shipments of chip tools. Legislation approved by the panel includes proposals to increase civil penalties for export control violations and create an incentive program for whistleblowers. Those align with administration efforts to crack down on China's illicit access to chips through smuggling, akin to what U.S. prosecutors have already alleged in charging Super Micro Computer executives with violating export controls.