Bill would require chip makers to sell to US companies first
This week, a coalition of national security experts, including former officials, urged leadership in Congress to pass the GAIN AI Act as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The legislation, which would require chip sellers to fulfill purchases from US-based customers before selling advanced AI chips to countries of concern, is included in the Senate’s version of the NDAA. The coalition letter follows a week of trade negotiations, in which President Trump discussed chip sales to China with President Xi.
“AI labs around the world are in need of more compute right now, and here in the U.S. our companies produce the most powerful AI chips in the world, bar none,” said ARI President Brad Carson. “If we want our labs to develop the best AI, the solution is easy: sell the chips to U.S. labs first. For our economy and for our national security, putting the needs of America’s AI sector over the needs of our competitors should be an easy call.”
Among the letter signers are a number of leading policy experts, including American Compass founder Oren Cass, as well as former national security officials, including Stewart Baker, Former Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security; Matt Pottinger, Former Deputy National Security Advisor; David Feith, Former National Security Council; Brad Carson, former Undersecretary of the Army and Acting Undersecretary of Defense; and Chris McGuire, former Deputy Senior Director of the National Security Council.
This week, President Donald Trump met with China’s President Xi Jinping to negotiate a trade agreement, during which the two leaders discussed American chip sales to China.
Over the past several years, U.S. firms have faced regular backlogs in purchasing chips. In late 2024, Nvidia’s Blackwell line was booked out roughly 12 months ahead. In an earnings call last month, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said with regards to chips that, “everything’s sold out.”
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Americans for Responsible Innovation (ARI) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to policy advocacy in the public interest, focused on emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI). Learn more at ARI.us.