Senators Introduce SAFE CHIPS Act to Block AI Exports

Republican Senator Pete Ricketts and Democratic Senator Chris Coons introduced the Secure and Feasible Exports of Chips Act of 2025, known as the SAFE CHIPS Act, on December 4. The bipartisan legislation would require the U.S. Department of Commerce to deny export licenses for high-performance artificial intelligence chips to China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea for at least 30 months, effectively until mid-2028.

Pete Ricketts and other proponents argue that the bill is necessary to maintain a U.S. lead in computing power and prevent China from supercharging its military and surveillance capabilities. The move follows reports that the Trump administration is considering allowing the sale of Nvidia H200 chips to China after previously rolling back curbs on H20 chips, potentially as part of negotiations to delay Chinese export controls on rare earth metals.

Industry reactions are split. Nvidia opposes the measure, claiming that restrictive bans encourage China to develop its own independent hardware ecosystem. Google also argues that total bans on competitive GPUs weaken U.S. leadership. The legislative push comes shortly after a December 3 meeting between Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and President Donald Trump to discuss export control issues.