Summary
- The US House Foreign Affairs Committee passed an AI oversight bill, strengthening congressional oversight of AI semiconductor exports to countries of concern such as China.
- It would require Commerce Department licenses on a case-by-case basis for exports of AI chips such as Nvidia’s H200 whose performance exceeds certain thresholds to China, North Korea, Russia, and others.
- The Chinese government has limited purchases of Nvidia’s H200 chips to special cases for some companies, moving to a test of wills with the US.
House committee passes 'AI oversight' bill
Dealings with China, North Korea, Russia, etc.
Would require Commerce Department approval on a case-by-case basis
A proposed “AI oversight” bill designed to allow Congress to intervene when advanced artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors are exported to countries of concern such as China has cleared the committee of jurisdiction.
According to Reuters, the US House Foreign Affairs Committee on the 21st (local time) passed the bill by 42 votes to 2. The legislation, which strengthens Congress’s oversight authority over AI semiconductor exports, was introduced by Committee Chairman Brian Mast after US President Donald Trump said last month he would allow exports of Nvidia’s H200 AI chips to China. It would require case-by-case Commerce Department licenses for exports of AI semiconductors whose performance exceeds certain thresholds to China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela under the regime of Nicolás Maduro. It also requires the Commerce Department to submit relevant information to the responsible House committee at least 30 days before approving an export; if Congress, after reviewing the information, adopts a joint resolution to ban the export, the Commerce Department would be barred from granting approval.
The South China Morning Post (SCMP) said, “Concerns are growing that President Trump may approve the sale of the latest high-performance chips to China at the US-China summit scheduled for April,” adding that “this bipartisan push is a rare case in Trump’s current term of Republican lawmakers breaking with the party line to check presidential authority.”
Reuters reported that David Sacks, the Trump administration’s AI czar overseeing AI policy, ran an online campaign to block the bill, but instead helped boost its chances of passage. Last week on X (formerly Twitter), Sacks shared a post claiming that Trump’s opponents and advisers to former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden devised the bill to weaken Trump’s “America First” strategy, writing, “Accurate.”
China’s response has been muted. Although the US opened a path for exports of Nvidia’s H200 chips, the Chinese government has moved to “test wills” with the US, including notifying some companies that purchases of H200 chips would be limited to special cases.
Reporter Han Kyung-economy hankyung@hankyung.com
Korea Economic Daily
hankyung@bloomingbit.ioThe Korea Economic Daily Global is a digital media where latest news on Korean companies, industries, and financial markets.
