Congressional Democrats are raising a flag about a possible U.S. sale of a high‑end Nvidia chip to China, a move they say could backfire on national security.
Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts sent a letter on Monday to Under‑Secretary Jeffrey Kessler of the Department of Commerce’s Industry and Security Bureau. In it, they demanded an explanation for the Trump administration’s decision to approve a license for the Nvidia H200 chip to go to China.
Both lawmakers cited the Export Control Reform Act of 2018, which obligates the Commerce Department to brief Congress on any export decisions that the foreign‑affairs and armed‑services committees raise. “Congress has made clear that the U.S. policy is to limit the export of items that would enhance another country’s military capabilities,” Meeks wrote. “Approving a license for the H200, which the Justice Department recently described as ‘integral to modern military applications,’ would clash with that policy.”
The H200 is Nvidia’s flagship AI processor, a key component in advanced machine‑learning workloads. The chip was barred from export to China in 2022 under the Biden administration. Nvidia later indicated that any new license must address the risk that its technology could be used for military purposes or by a military end‑user in China.
The concerns echo past moves by Congress to curb China’s technology influence. Washington has already banned Huawei equipment from government use and, last year, enacted a law forcing the divestiture of TikTok over data‑privacy worries. Meeks and Warren argue that resuming sales to China—and potentially other rivals—undermines those efforts.
Meeks also pointed out that in January last year, the administration allowed the export of tens of thousands of advanced AI chips valued at roughly $1 billion to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, despite concerns about the countries’ human‑rights records and close ties to China.
The Democrats are seeking answers by January 12, 2026, about the factors that led to the Trump administration’s reversal on the H200 chip sale. Some Republicans say the change is part of a plan to keep U.S. tech leadership, while others share Meeks’ worries about the security implications.
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