Lawmaker: BIS H200 Export Rule Needs ‘Rigorous Enforcement,' Clarifying Guidance
House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich., urged the Commerce Department to ensure that any H200 AI chips that Nvidia is allowed to sell to China are not used to modernize China’s military.
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In a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik that was publicly released Jan. 29, Moolenaar said that documents provided to his committee show that Nvidia's "extensive technical support" helped Chinese startup DeepSeek improve its AI capabilities, which are now used by China’s military even though DeepSeek has presented itself as a commercial firm. "Nvidia's experience with DeepSeek illustrates why [China's] Military-Civil Fusion strategy makes it impossible to distinguish between commercial and military entities," he wrote.
Although the rule the Bureau of Industry and Security issued in mid-January to enable the H200 exports contains several conditions, including certification that the chips won’t serve military purposes (see 2601130073), Moolenaar believes “rigorous enforcement” of the rule will be “essential," even if such enforcement prevents China from obtaining H200s. He also recommended that BIS issue clarifying guidance to “prevent prohibited end users from gaining the type of access” the Chinese military gained from DeepSeek.
Commerce didn’t respond to a request for comment, but an Nvidia spokesperson dismissed Moolenaar’s concerns. “China has more than enough domestic chips for all of its military applications, with millions to spare,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “Just like it would be nonsensical for the American military to use Chinese technology, it makes no sense for the Chinese military to depend on American technology."
The spokesperson also said that critics of the Trump administration “are unintentionally promoting the interests of foreign competitors. America should always want its industry to compete for vetted and approved commercial businesses, and thereby protecting national security, creating American jobs, and keeping America's lead in AI."