Overview
- Rep. Gregory Meeks and Sen. Elizabeth Warren sent Under Secretary Jeffrey Kessler a letter questioning the decision to authorize H200 exports to China and requested responses by Jan. 12, 2026.
- Meeks introduced a bill to bar approval of export licenses for advanced AI chips to arms-embargoed countries including China, Russia, and Venezuela.
- House Foreign Affairs Chair Brian Mast proposed a competing measure that keeps license approvals in place but allows Congress 30 days to block them with majority votes in both chambers.
- A recent Justice Department release on arrests tied to alleged smuggling of H100 and H200 chips to China called the devices “the building blocks of AI superiority” and “integral to modern military applications.”
- Trump defended the policy, saying a 25% U.S. fee would benefit the economy and arguing the move would undercut demand for Chinese chips.