The Bureau of Industry and Security has effectively shut down its technical advisory committees without telling most members, quietly ending its involvement in most of the joint industry-government groups that it has used for years to solicit expert feedback on export controls, Export Compliance Daily has learned.
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.
Beijing has given approval to several of Nvidia's Chinese customers to begin buying the semiconductor firm's H200 chips, The Wall Street Journal reported Jan. 28. The decision came during Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's trip to China, the report said, and more than a month after President Donald Trump said he planned to allow the previously restricted exports (see 2512080059).
Two senior members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee urged Congress Jan. 27 to pass legislation to limit exports of advanced chips to China and expedite defense exports to Taiwan.
Brian Rothblatt, a former senior export specialist for the Bureau of Industry and Security, has joined semiconductor manufacturing company Microchip Technology as its manager of global trade compliance, he announced this week on LinkedIn. Rothblatt had worked at BIS since 2020, including at its Western regional office, before his departure in October (see 2510170008).
The House Foreign Affairs Committee approved a bill Jan. 21 that would increase congressional oversight of sales of advanced AI chips to China and other “countries of concern.”
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week, in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching for the title or clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., said Jan. 16 that he would “advise” President Donald Trump against allowing Nvidia to sell H200 AI chips to China.
Although the Trump administration plans to allow Nvidia H200 chips to be exported to China, a White House official stressed last week that those exports will be closely scrutinized and that the U.S. will continue to restrict exports of the most leading-edge American chips and technology. Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, also said he doesn’t believe the Bureau of Industry and Security needs any additional authorities from Congress to boost its export control implementation or enforcement powers.
Citing economic and national security concerns, a panel of experts called on lawmakers Jan. 14 to overturn the Trump administration’s decision last month to allow Nvidia to export its H200 AI chips to China (see 2512080059).