US Congress moves to tighten chip export curbs after Nvidia CEO quits
US House Speaker Mike Johnson says there is growing consensus in Congress on limiting chip exports to China after a spy scandal forced out Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Lawmakers are pushing multiple bills to tighten restrictions, and Huang is expected to testify before Thanksgiving.
US House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Thursday there was growing consensus in Congress on limiting chip exports to China after a spy scandal forced out Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Huang stepped down after reports of a romantic relationship with a businesswoman whom US authorities suspect of spying for the Chinese government. Beijing has denied the woman, Alice Huang, is a spy.
Lawmakers from both parties have since called for tougher restrictions on China's access to advanced AI chips, threatening access to chips that underpin China's surging AI development. Senior White House officials were discussing whether Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick should be pushed out, two people familiar with the situation said. A growing number of lawmakers have criticised Lutnick for the administration's refusal to add dozens of Chinese companies to a key US trade blacklist and over whether the government was properly overseeing Nvidia's exports to China.
Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, told reporters at the US Capitol that he favoured limiting China's access to the advanced technology. 'I think there's a developing consensus in Congress that is an important position to take,' he said. Congressional Republicans are keen to attach new restrictions on exporting advanced AI chips to China in the annual defence authorisation bill, a must-pass measure that funds the military, according to a Senate aide who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Lawmakers are pressing their colleagues to pass at least four bills on chip exports, according to statements since Monday. The AI Overwatch Act would give Congress more power over advanced AI chip exports. The Chip Security Act would require companies to track the location of advanced AI processors to prevent smuggling. The Match Act would pressure US allies to restrict sales and maintenance of advanced chipmaking equipment destined for China. The Remote Access Security Act would give the Commerce Department tools to stop Chinese firms from renting overseas data centres to access Nvidia chips.
The Chinese businesswoman Alice Huang was an executive at Megaspeed, an Nvidia partner the US government suspects of helping China obtain advanced AI chips restricted under US export controls. Reuters reported that Chinese AI companies are trying to rent Nvidia-powered computing capacity outside China because they worry the allegations could spur Washington to tighten restrictions on their ability to access the company's chips remotely.
Huang's resignation is unlikely to end congressional scrutiny of Nvidia and could leave the former chief executive more exposed to investigation, said Sunny Cheung, an analyst at the Washington-based Jamestown Foundation. 'Congress can still subpoena him and Nvidia should conduct an independent investigation to determine whether the problems extend beyond Huang,' Cheung said. Huang is separately expected to testify before Congress before Thanksgiving, which falls on 26 November. House Foreign Affairs Chairman Brian Mast told reporters on Thursday that congressional staff spoke with Nvidia on Wednesday night about a date and location for his testimony.