Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., this week criticized the Trump administration’s decision to suspend the Bureau of Industry and Security's 50% rule (see 2510300024) and allow exports of Nvidia H200 chips to China, suggesting the U.S. is sacrificing national security for improved trade relations with China.
The U.S. announced charges against a group of business owners, their companies and associates for illegally exporting advanced Nvidia chips to China the same day President Donald Trump said he plans to ease export controls over those exact chips.
Advanced technology and AI companies largely supported the Commerce Department’s new effort to create a program aimed at increasing U.S. exports of AI technologies and services, with some saying companies should commit to "rigorous" export compliance conditions before being allowed to participate. One company said the U.S. should require businesses to automate their compliance for exports involving certain dual-use AI models, saying manual compliance presents too many “failure points.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security needs more resources to address the surge in export license applications that’s expected if its new 50% rule comes back into effect with no changes, industry groups said, adding that otherwise, the agency risks severely delaying or pausing large volumes of trade.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Senate Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., introduced a bill last week that would require the Bureau of Industry and Security to conduct a competitive market review of applications to export items to entities on the agency’s Entity List.
The U.S. should work with its allies to increase export restrictions on semiconductor manufacturing equipment (SME), components and services to limit China’s ability to make computing chips, former government officials told lawmakers Nov. 20.
Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Texas, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on South and Central Asia, which oversees the Bureau of Industry and Security, said Nov. 20 that she’s concerned that recent personnel departures at BIS have caused a “talent drain” at the export control agency.
The U.S. plans to allow United Arab Emirates-based AI company G42 and Saudi Arabia-based AI firm Humain to buy the equivalent of up to 35,000 Nvidia Blackwell chips, also known as GB300s, the Commerce Department said in a Nov. 19 emailed press release.
The U.S. government’s “economic statecraft” tools, including export controls and sanctions, are “fragmented” across multiple agencies, and Congress should consider consolidating them into a single entity to increase coordination, focus and accountability, the congressionally mandated U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said in its new 2025 annual report.
Although China agreed to temporarily suspend its sweeping rare earth export restrictions, the threat of those controls returning appears likely, said Jude Blanchette, director of the Rand China Research Center.