Rumor has it that US chip export restrictions have turned around, US media: NVIDIA will usher in major gains

US media Axios quoted sources as reporting that White House officials are actively lobbying Congress to exclude the GAIN AI Act, which restricts the export of artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China, from the annual National Defense Authorization Act. This move is seen as a major benefit to major US chip manufacturers such as NVIDIA.

Four sources familiar with the situation revealed that White House AI director David Sacks recently led an action against the GAIN AI bill and has received support from the White House Legislative Affairs Office, making it extremely unlikely that it will eventually be included in defense legislation.

Members of the U.S. Congress are working hard to negotiate, hoping to finalize a new version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) before Thanksgiving.

Sources told Axios that government officials have successively called core members of Congress, including House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, asking them to oppose the inclusion of the AI GAIN Act in the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act. The full name of the GAIN AI Act is the "Guaranteeing Access and Innovation for National Artificial Intelligence Act."

Companies such as Amazon and Microsoft have expressed support for this.

The GAIN AI Act requires chip manufacturers to meet the procurement needs of domestic customers in the United States before exporting AI chips to "countries of concern" including China. In addition, this bill also provides export license exemptions to specific "trusted entities."

Neither Indiana Republican U.S. Senator Jim Banks, the main co-sponsor of the bipartisan bill, nor the White House responded to requests for comment.

NVIDIA (Nvidia) CEO Jensen Huang is determined to open up the Chinese market and has successfully convinced important government officials that operating the Chinese market is in the best interests of the United States.

Huang Jen-Hsun previously asked US President Trump to raise the issue of AI chips during the meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, which once triggered an internal debate within the government and was rejected.

The two houses of Congress are still negotiating the National Defense Authorization Bill, with the goal of finalizing the text before Thanksgiving and completing review and voting in December.

Further reading: Trump mentioned Taiwan and the chip industry again: The United States needs foreign personnel to help set up factories and operate them US media: Amazon, Microsoft supports legislation to restrict NVIDIA from exporting chips to China