U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren has addressed a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, urging the Department of Commerce to impose restrictions on the export of Nvidia's advanced AI chips to China. The letter raises concerns about national security and highlights recent reports on the Trump Administration's previous handling of the issue.
Senator Warren expressed apprehension over the Commerce Department’s decision to pause plans to limit exports of Nvidia's H20 chips to the People's Republic of China (PRC). She noted that Nvidia continues to sell the AI chips to China's national champions at the expense of American startups and small businesses.
Warren referenced a report suggesting that Commerce paused its restrictions after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang participated in an expensive dinner with former President Donald Trump. During this meeting, Huang allegedly made commitments to construct more data centers in the United States. However, Warren argues that the continued export of H20 chips would lead to the contrary, enhancing China's technological capabilities instead.
"In reality, the company’s continued export of the H20 will result in the opposite outcome: more data centers for the PRC, less for the United States," Warren noted. She emphasized Nvidia's priority to deal with PRC national champions at the cost of U.S. businesses.
Previously, the Biden Administration had restricted exports of high-bandwidth memory used in H20 chips, but the restriction on the chips themselves remains unresolved. Concerns have been raised about Chinese companies like ByteDance ordering vast quantities of these chips, which could bolster China’s military and surveillance systems.
Domestic AI developers are reportedly facing chip shortages, and Nvidia’s advanced Blackwell processors are already overbooked until the end of 2025. Warren warned of the risks further delays in restriction would pose to the national security and global technological leadership of the United States.
"Contrary to Nvidia's promise to the President, the company appears poised to help build more cutting-edge data centers in the PRC—not in the United States," Warren stated. She urged the Commerce Department to act promptly to mitigate potential security risks.