US lawmakers want to restrict exports of advanced AI chips to China, Russia, Iran, North Korea

On December 4 local time, bipartisan US lawmakers announced a bill to prevent the Trump administration from loosening regulations restricting access to artificial intelligence (AI) chips for China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.

Lawmakers from both the Democratic and Republican parties have proposed bills that would prevent the administration from selling advanced AI chips to Beijing - Photo: REUTERS

The bill, called the SAFE CHIPS Act, would require the US Commerce Department to deny any license requests from customers in China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea that want to buy US AI chips more advanced than those they are currently allowed to buy, for 30 months.

Any processors more powerful than those currently allowed to be exported to those countries would be subject to the bill, including chips from Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Google, according to Bloomberg News.

After that deadline, the Commerce Department would have to report to Congress on any proposed regulatory changes one month before they take effect.

“The best AI chips are made by American companies. Preventing Beijing from accessing these leading AI chips is essential to our national security,” said Republican Senator Pete Ricketts, who introduced the bill.

Analysts say this is a rare bill pushed by Republican lawmakers themselves, aimed at preventing Mr. Trump from further easing technology export restrictions on Beijing.

A source familiar with Reuters revealed that the bill was introduced after the Trump administration was considering giving the green light to sell Nvidia's H200 AI chip to China.

This has raised concerns among some US politicians who have taken a hard line on China, who fear that Beijing could use the chips to bolster its military, create AI-powered weapons, and enhance its intelligence and surveillance capabilities.

After the bill was announced, a spokesperson for Nvidia, the world's leading chipmaker, spoke out against it: "As President Trump's AI action plan wisely asserts, non- military businesses everywhere should have the right to choose American technology. This promotes domestic jobs and strengthens national security."

Earlier, on December 3, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang had a private meeting with Mr. Trump. Mr. Huang revealed that the two sides discussed the issue of export control, but did not provide details.

KHANH QUYNH

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cac-nghi-si-my-muon-han-che-xuat-khau-chip-ai-tien-tien-cho-trung-quoc-nga-iran-trieu-tien-2025120508210011.htm