Jensen Huang's lobbying succeeds; restrictions on chip exports to China not included in US defense bill

The US Congress recently decided not to include the “Guaranteeing AI Innovation Act” (GAIN AI Act) at the last moment before submitting the annual National Defense Authorization Act for review. This decision is seen as a major lobbying victory for NVIDIA (NVIDIA), reflecting intense power struggles among the White House, Congress, tech giants, and national security factions. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang even personally flew to Washington to meet with President Trump and several members of Congress to make his case.

The Bill Sparks Debate: U.S. Worries About Chip Supply Being Squeezed

The core spirit of the “GAIN AI Act” is to require AI and high-performance computing (HPC) chip manufacturers, such as NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel, to ensure that domestic U.S. demand is met before exporting chips. This bill originated from the long-standing shortage of AI chips in the U.S., causing many companies and research institutions to face project delays due to lack of GPUs.

Therefore, these companies must first ensure that U.S. customers can buy chips before exporting to countries like China, which are subject to U.S. export bans. Congress initially wanted to include it in the National Defense Authorization Act, but insiders revealed that the final version did not incorporate the “GAIN AI Act.”

National Security vs. Tech: Export Controls in Tug-of-War

This proposal sparked fierce debate in Washington. National security factions and AI safety advocates worry that if China obtains high-end U.S.-made chips, its military and economic capabilities will be strengthened. However, many major U.S. tech companies and NVIDIA expressed opposition, arguing that the bill would distort the market, weaken U.S. competitiveness, and emphasized that firms would not let U.S. customers be unable to buy GPUs.

Jensen Huang Steps In, Meets with Trump to Clarify

At the most critical moment, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang personally went to Washington, met with President Trump and several key lawmakers, and stated outside Speaker (James Michael Johnson)'s office that his trip was to “answer everyone’s questions about AI.”

He later publicly stated that it was a wise decision for Congress not to include the “GAIN AI Act” in the bill, and said this bill would harm the U.S. even more than the “AI Diffusion Rules.”

White House Split on Relaxing Export Controls

There is no unified stance within the U.S. administration regarding chip export policy:

AI encryption czar David Sacks: Has repeatedly expressed public support for exporting more U.S.-made AI chips to China, believing it helps maintain the U.S. technology lead.

Other cabinet officials: More opposed, especially unwilling to approve the export of NVIDIA’s Blackwell GPUs.

Ultimately, the White House sided with NVIDIA, opposing the inclusion of the “GAIN AI Act” and continuing to evaluate whether to approve the export of the H200 chip, since its performance surpasses all of China’s self-developed chips.

Congressional Concerns Rise, National Security Faction Pushes for Stricter AI Chip Export Controls

Lawmakers supporting the legislation believe the Trump administration’s stance on exporting AI chips to China is too lenient and want to establish clear boundaries through legislation to prevent China from accelerating its military and economic growth with U.S. chips. Although this proposal failed, they have already begun pushing a new “SAFE Act” to directly write current restrictions into law.

Cloud Giants Have Different Attitudes—U.S. Corporate Clients Actually Support Legislation

Although NVIDIA successfully blocked the “GAIN AI Act,” large U.S. cloud customers like Microsoft and Amazon actually supported the bill. The reason is simple: if priority is given to U.S. clients, these cloud giants can obtain GPUs faster and more easily than Chinese customers.

(Jensen Huang: NVIDIA Will Not Export Blackwell to China for Now, Waiting for Policy Shift)

This article, “Jensen Huang’s Lobbying Pays Off: China Chip Export Restrictions Not Included in U.S. Defense Bill,” first appeared on ABMedia.