US lawmakers introduce bill to stop smuggling of Nvidia’s AI chips to China

A bipartisan group of eight US lawmakers introduced a bill on Thursday that would require makers of artificial intelligence (AI) chips such as Nvidia to include technology to verify the location of their chips before exporting them.

The Chip Security Act introduced in the US House of Representatives aims to address reports of US export-controlled AI chips being smuggled into China.

US officials across presidential administrations have sought to clamp down on their export to China, but news organisations have documented how some of those chips have continued to flow.

“In order for the United States to maintain our technological advantage, we must employ safeguards to help ensure export controls are not being circumvented, allowing these advanced AI chips to fall into the hands of nefarious actors,” Representative Bill Huizenga, a Michigan Republican who introduced the House bill, said in a statement.

Senator Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, introduced a similar bill in the US Senate last week. The House bill was co-led by Representative Bill Foster, an Illinois Democrat, who was a physicist before becoming a legislator and designed several of his own chips during his scientific career.

“I know that we have the technical tools to prevent powerful AI technology from getting into the wrong hands,” Foster said in a statement.

The House bill comes after US President Donald Trump’s administration rescinded a rule enacted by predecessor Joe Biden that would have regulated the flow of advanced AI chips around the world. The Trump administration has not yet announced a replacement rule.
But Trump this week toured the Middle East, where he announced a spate of deals to send AI chips to countries in the Middle East, despite growing opposition from some inside the US government.
In addition to Foster and Huizenga, also co-leading the House bill are House Select Committee on China chairman John Moolenaar, a Michigan Republican, and ranking member Raja Krishnamoorthi, an Illinois Democrat.

Representatives Ted Lieu, California Democrat; Rick Crawford, an Arkansas Republican who chairs the House Intelligence Committee; Josh Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat; and Darin LaHood, an Illinois Republican were cosponsors.(SCMP)