Lawmaker Probes Potential Nvidia Chip Exports to China
House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich., asked the Commerce Department July 18 to explain how it plans to implement the Trump administration’s recent decision to allow U.S. semiconductor firm Nvidia to sell its previously restricted advanced H20 chips to China (see 2507150013).
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In a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Moolenaar said he wants a briefing by Aug. 8 on a host of topics related to the decision, including how the department will evaluate license applications and prevent Chinese military-affiliated entities and other unauthorized end-users from benefitting from H20s.
Moolenaar also wants to know how many chips will be exported and to whom, and why the administration reversed the department’s April move to restrict the chips (see 2504160026).
Moolenaar said he’s concerned that the H20, which “far surpasses China’s indigenous capability,” could enhance China’s AI capabilities, including those available to the People’s Liberation Army. He also said there is “growing evidence” that Chinese AI companies are using H20s to build supercomputers in violation of Commerce's supercomputer end-use rule.
Commerce didn't respond to a request for comment on Moolenaar's letter. But in defending the administration's decision to allow H20 exports to China, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said July 15 that Chinese manufacturers already produce an equivalent chip, so continuing to restrict the H20 would only hurt Nvidia.