nvidia ai chips targeted: us lawmaker aims to stop china smuggling

2025-05-05 nvidia

San Francisco, Monday, 5 May 2025.
a us lawmaker is proposing new legislation to track nvidia’s ai chips after they are sold. the goal is to prevent these advanced chips from being illegally smuggled into china, a violation of export controls. this bipartisan effort highlights concerns that nvidia’s technology, vital for ai development, is being diverted to china. the proposed law seeks to monitor the location of chips and block unauthorized activation, addressing a critical national security risk. some sources say the chips are smuggled in活龙虾 and fake pregnant bellies.

lawmaker’s proposal

representative bill foster of illinois is planning to introduce legislation that will enable regulators to track ai chips, including those made by nvidia, after the point of sale [4]. the aim is to ensure these chips are used as intended under export control licenses and to prevent unauthorized chips from activating [4]. foster indicated that the technology to track chips is readily available, with much of it already integrated into nvidia’s chips [4]. the proposed legislation seeks to address reports of large-scale smuggling of chips, some of which have not been publicly disclosed [4].

nvidia’s response and market impact

nvidia has not commented directly on the proposed legislation [4]. however, the company has previously downplayed its ability to track where its chips end up after sale [4]. restrictions on exporting ai chips to china could impact nvidia’s revenue streams [8]. nvidia projected a potential $5.5 billion loss in revenue for fiscal year 2026’s first quarter due to new licensing requirements for h20 ai chips sold in china [8]. the increased scrutiny and potential for stricter export controls could affect nvidia’s market position and competitive advantage in the ai chip market [1].

anthropic’s accusations and nvidia’s rebuttal

ai company anthropic has supported the u.s. government’s ai diffusion export control framework, which aims to strengthen control and enforcement of high-end ai chips [6][7]. anthropic claimed that china has established extensive smuggling networks for chips, using methods such as shell companies and concealing chips in creative ways [3][6][7]. nvidia has refuted these claims, calling them absurd and misleading [3][6][7]. a nvidia spokesperson stated that companies should focus on innovation rather than fabricating stories about smuggling methods [3][6][7].

competitive dynamics and china’s ai capabilities

nvidia emphasized that china has a significant presence in the ai sector, with approximately half of the world’s ai researchers based in china [6][7]. the company argues that the u.s. cannot win the ai race through regulatory measures alone and that restricting access to ai technology could hinder innovation [6][7]. nvidia’s stance highlights the complex balance between national security concerns and the need to maintain competitiveness in the global ai market [2][5]. the debate reflects differing views on how to address china’s growing ai capabilities and the role of export controls [8].

Bronnen

export controls chip smuggling