US senators recently proposed the "Safe and Feasible Chip Export Act", requiring the US Department of Commerce to completely suspend the issuance of advanced artificial intelligence chip export licenses to countries such as China and Russia within the next 30 months. Recently, Republican Senator Pete Ricketts and Democratic Senator Chris Coons jointly proposed the "Safe and Feasible Chip Export Act", which requires the US Department of Commerce to completely suspend the issuance of advanced artificial intelligence chip export licenses to countries such as China and Russia in the next 30 months, and explicitly include Nvidia H200 chips and new chips based on the Blackwell architecture in strict control. As a key computing carrier supporting large-scale artificial intelligence model training, the closure of the export channels for the above-mentioned products is widely regarded by international observers as an important policy tool for the US government to suppress the upgrading of China's artificial intelligence industry from the source of technology supply.
The "Congressional Supervision Clause" set up in the bill has more institutional features, stipulating that after the 30 month policy implementation period expires, any rule adjustments made by the Ministry of Commerce must be reported to Congress 30 days in advance. This will strengthen the institutional rigidity of the export control of chips to China. The joint proposal by senators from both parties essentially forms legislative constraints on the executive branch's policy easing tendency, continuing the evolving characteristics of the US chip control policy towards China, which alternates between looseness and tightness. This policy dynamic can be traced back to early 2025, when Nvidia's customized H20 chip for the Chinese market was included in the regulatory list. After a brief policy adjustment, the regulatory system is now further strengthened through legislative procedures. Facing the chip export control policy, AMD CEO Su Zifeng announced on December 4th local time that some of AMD's MI 308 chips have obtained permission to be exported to China and are ready to pay a 15% tax to the US government when shipped. Previously, AMD had estimated that the US government's export restrictions on MI 308 chips would result in a loss of approximately $800 million. NVIDIA continues to be at the forefront of opposition. Huang Renxun has repeatedly emphasized publicly that "the Chinese market cannot accept technology products with limited performance", and through quantitative analysis, pointed out that the continuous export restrictions have caused the company to lose $15 billion in revenue in China. If the new law takes effect, it is expected that the revenue in the Chinese market will return to zero in the next two quarters. And just one day before the proposal of the Safe and Feasible Chip Export Act, Nvidia successfully lobbied Congress to suspend the GAIN AI Act. This core argument, which emphasizes that "artificial intelligence technology is different from nuclear weapons and should promote global technology sharing," emphasizes the important supporting role of technology circulation in the US job market and industrial ecology. However, this business oriented policy proposition has not gained widespread recognition.
Republican Congressman John F. Kennedy of the United States Senate Banking Committee publicly questioned the objectivity of his proposed policies, arguing that his views overly focused on corporate commercial interests; Hardliners, represented by Steve Bannon, advocate for strict measures similar to the Cold War era nuclear technology control. From a global perspective, this chip regulation game is essentially a strategic competition for technological dominance, but it may result in a "lose lose" situation. The restricted flow of technology will slow down the pace of global artificial intelligence technology innovation, while supply chain fragmentation will drive up industry operating costs. At a critical stage of the development of artificial intelligence technology, seeking a balance between maintaining national security and promoting global technological cooperation tests the strategic decision-making wisdom of China and the United States. The ultimate direction of this game will have a profound impact on the future global technological development pattern and international economic order.
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