Senate Bill Challenges White House on China AI Chip Controls

TaiwanPlus News

A bipartisan group of senators has introduced the SAFE CHIPS Act to codify export restrictions on AI chips to China, a move that could limit President Donald Trump's power to grant exceptions to the current export restrictions.

Transcript

00:00A legislative tug-of-war over selling U.S. chips in China.

00:05Earlier this week, the White House reportedly pressured Congress to kill a measure tightening chip export restrictions.

00:12But later, a bipartisan group of senators struck back, introducing the Safe Chips Act.

00:18Republican co-sponsor Pete Ricketts says the goal of this bill is to lock current restrictions in place.

00:24That's why Senator Coons and I plan to introduce the Safe Chips Act.

00:28This legislation would put in statute the Trump administration's current red lines

00:32on what AI chips are allowed to be sold to communist China for 30 months to preserve our edge.

00:38Sponsors say these chips could help China build up its military.

00:42And while Republicans say the bill supports Trump's agenda, there's a catch.

00:46The bill prohibits any exceptions, stripping the president of the power to override the bans by granting licenses.

00:53That could limit Trump's options as he negotiates a larger trade deal with China.

00:57NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, who reports I urged Trump to kill the first bill,

01:02says export controls are self-defeating and will only help China take more of the global market faster.

01:08They're going to go build their own complete stack.

01:10Once they build that entire complete stack, they'll export it as quickly as you could imagine.

01:18And this is the world we will find someday if we don't activate.

01:23We'll be buyers, not sellers.

01:25But even if Washington says yes to China sales, Beijing might still say no.

01:31Regulators there are said to be pushing tech giants to buy AI chips from local firms like Huawei instead of NVIDIA or AMD.

01:39While the bill makes its way through Congress, some companies are moving ahead.

01:43AMD CEO Lisa Su confirmed Thursday she has obtained export licenses to ship some of its AI chips

01:49and is ready to pay Trump's 15% tax on China sales.

01:54So the stakes in the global AI race are high.

01:57And the debate around the Safe Chips Act shows there are divisions even within President Trump's own party.

02:03Now, whether the bill makes it through Congress and the president's desk is another matter.

02:07Patrick Chen and Chris Gorin for Taiwan Plus.

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