The Bureau of Industry and Security could face significant challenges imposing and enforcing export controls against China if the Trump administration continues to slash government workers and resources, particularly in the national security sphere, a technology policy researcher said in a new report. The report said the U.S. needs to continue investing in efforts to close export control loopholes that allow China to acquire advanced artificial intelligence chips, but it also said that even “extremely aggressive” controls are unlikely to give the U.S. a large lead in the AI race.

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The Treasury Department included its Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI) in the Trump administration’s hiring freeze but is now considering giving it relief from the pause due to its national security role, the department told lawmakers.

The U.S. should tighten export controls on advanced artificial intelligence chips and bolster security requirements for frontier AI labs, which will slow American adversaries from developing their own AI technologies and keep the U.S. in the lead, AI research and development firm Anthropic told the White House this month.

House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich., asked the Bureau of Industry and Security to brief his panel on how it's restricting China’s access to U.S. university supercomputers.

The Bureau of Industry needs better resources and technology, and the semiconductor industry needs better tracking tools, to prevent China from illegally receiving and accessing advanced chip technology, a researcher told a BIS advisory committee this week.

The U.S. should take more steps to slash export barriers hindering defense trade with close allies, especially Australia, industry officials and a researcher said last week.

The U.S. needs stronger restrictions on the types of advanced technology research that can be shared with academic institutions and other entities from China, lawmakers and witnesses said during a congressional hearing last week, including by possibly extending export controls to cover fundamental research. Others said the U.S. should be careful about cutting off too much collaboration with China, which would disregard the strides universities have recently made to better protect sensitive research.

President Donald Trump last week threatened to increase sanctions against Russia if it doesn't agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine and a peace deal. His comments came one day after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also threatened more sanctions against Moscow, including its energy sector.

The Senate Banking Committee voted 13-11 along party lines March 6 to approve Washington trade lawyer Jeffrey Kessler to be undersecretary of commerce for industry and security, sending his nomination to the full Senate for its consideration.