House Bill Would Give Congress Role in Reviewing Chip Exports to China
Three House Democrats introduced a bill Aug. 22 that would require Congress, not just the executive branch, to approve the sale of certain advanced AI chips to China.
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The No Advanced Chips for the CCP Act is in response to President Donald Trump’s recent statement that he might allow China to buy a downgraded version of Nvidia’s most advanced AI chip, the GB300 Blackwell (see 2508150034).
“Even ‘downgraded’ chips could accelerate Beijing’s ability to build AI supercomputers, threatening U.S. technological leadership and national security,” according to a press release on the bill. “By requiring congressional approval, the [bill] ensures that these critical decisions will not be made unilaterally or traded away in backroom deals, but will instead undergo transparent and rigorous scrutiny consistent with America’s security interests.”
The bill would require the executive branch to submit a report to Congress on a proposed export, including the intended Chinese recipient and use, the analysis conducted and the basis for any approval. In addition to an export needing the Commerce Department’s approval following an interagency review, as is currently the case, Congress would have to pass a joint resolution to greenlight a transaction. The bill would apply to certain chip exports to China, Hong Kong and Macau along with any entity owned, controlled or acting on behalf of the Chinese government.
House Select Committee on China ranking member Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., introduced the bill with Rep. Ami Bera, D-Calif., the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific. Rep. Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, is an original co-sponsor.
The bill wouldn't cover Nvidia’s H20 chip, which the administration recently decided to allow the company to sell to China in exchange for a portion of its sales revenue, according to the China Select Committee’s Democratic staff.
Under the legislation, a chip would be covered if it exceeded any of the following thresholds: total processing performance above 2,400 or performance density of 1.6 or higher; dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) bandwidth above 4,100 gigabytes per second; interconnect bandwidth above 1,100 gigabytes per second; or combined DRAM and interconnect bandwidth above 5,100 gigabytes per second. The bill contains a three-year sunset provision to allow Congress to update the legislation to reflect changes in technology and threats.
An Nvidia spokesperson criticized the proposal, saying it "asks Congress to micromanage sales of millions of electronics to consumers," including personal computers, gaming consoles, smartwatches, smartphones and automobiles. The company's "mainstream electronics" are not military products, so the legislation "would not promote national security but would harm the American economy and drain the American treasury of tens of billions in taxes," the spokesperson said in an e-mailed statement.