White House opposes AI export bill restricting Nvidia chips

White House officials are urging Congress to reject the GAIN AI Act, a measure that would restrict Nvidia and AMD from selling advanced AI chips to China and other countries under US arms embargoes.

The GAIN AI Act would prioritize US companies for AI chip shipments, and block exports to certain nations, reflecting rising concerns over technology access and national security.

Nvidia has lobbied against the bill, while some large US cloud providers, including Microsoft, have supported it to secure their own chip supplies.

If the bill fails, lawmakers are also considering the SAFE Act, which would codify current restrictions and require the Commerce Department to deny export applications for AI chips more powerful than currently allowed models for 30 months.

The fate of both bills remains unclear, as discussions continue around their inclusion in upcoming defense legislation.

US restrictions on AI chip exports to China began in 2022, with controls tightening, including under the Trump administration.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

The GAIN AI Act largely overlaps with current BIS controls

BIS already polices advanced AI chip exports through several rules, including the December 2024 Final Rule that tightened licenses for advanced computing items to China 1, the October 2022 baseline controls 2, and the January 2025 due diligence for integrated circuit (IC) fabricators 3.
Current regulations set a presumption of denial for many advanced computing items bound for Country Group D:5 (U.S. arms-embargoed countries) based on performance thresholds in the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) 1. BIS also sends “is informed” letters to impose case-specific license needs, including for Nvidia’s H20 GPUs 4.
Recent reporting says the SAFE Act would mostly codify today’s limits. It would direct Commerce to deny export applications for AI chips above currently allowed models for 30 months.

Export control compliance keeps getting harder for chipmakers and distributors

The January 2025 BIS rule adds Know Your Customer due diligence plus reporting for front-end fabricators, while covering outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) firms for advanced ICs 3. Specialized software can automate this workload.
Chip makers now verify if IC designers are approved or authorized under shifting BIS lists 1. They track technical parameters across eight new Export Control Classification Numbers (ECCNs) from December 2024 1 and file reports under the new BIS license exception RFF 1. Many teams still do this by hand.
BIS expects 200 more license applications each year from recent changes 1. The late May 2025 “is informed” letters to electronic design automation (EDA) companies 4 expand controls with company-specific directives, so real-time rule tracking matters for distributors and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).