Report: Jensen Huang successfully lobbied, U.S. Congress to reject AI chip export bill

Nvidia’s powerful lobbying efforts have achieved a key outcome: a bill aimed at restricting its sale of advanced AI chips to certain overseas markets, the “GAIN AI Act,” is expected not to be included in the annual U.S. defense bill. According to media reports citing a source familiar with the matter, the measures in the “GAIN AI Act” are not included in the final text of the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to be announced on Friday. The act originally planned to require chip makers such as Nvidia and AMD to prioritize meeting the needs of American customers before exporting their powerful AI chips to restricted countries. While the source added that there is still a possibility of surprises, the current development is undoubtedly a positive signal for the chip industry. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang subsequently described Congress’s decision not to include the Act in the NDAA as “wise” and said the “GAIN AI Act” poses great potential harm to the United States. On Wednesday, he personally traveled to Washington to meet with President Trump and several key lawmakers. Jensen Huang’s personal intervention is seen as a crucial step in advancing developments. He appeared in Washington on Wednesday, meeting with several lawmakers in Congress. Outside Speaker Mike Johnson’s office, Huang told reporters his visit was to “answer questions about AI.” Huang has consistently argued that allowing U.S. companies to serve global markets ultimately benefits the United States. His views clearly resonated inside the administration. After Congress made its preliminary decision, Huang publicly stated that the “GAIN AI Act” is “even more harmful to the U.S. than the AI Expansion Rules.” WallstreetCN mentions that the “AI Expansion Rules” policy was issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce in January this year, regulating the export destinations of chips from companies like Nvidia into three major categories of countries, aiming to further restrict the export of AI chips and related technologies. End of a Fierce Lobbying Battle The shelving of the “GAIN AI Act” marks the end of a fierce lobbying battle over AI technology export controls. Supporters of the act mainly consisted of lawmakers with strong stances on national security and AI safety advocates wishing to use legislation to ensure America’s advantage in domestic AI computing power. Opponents were led by Nvidia and other industry participants, who feared such restrictions would stifle global competition and harm the market standing of American companies. Nvidia argued that the act was unnecessary because the company would not sacrifice supply to American customers, and restrictive trade policies would hinder innovation. White House May Intervene to Support Industry Position WallstreetCN writes, citing four insiders, that the White House played a key role in this legislative contest. The report says that key White House officials pressured Capitol Hill, asking lawmakers to exclude the “GAIN AI Act” from the annual defense authorization bill. This initiative was reportedly led by White House “AI Czar” David Sacks and backed by the Office of Legislative Affairs. They directly called House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and other key lawmakers, clearly expressing their opposition. Sources said that after this high-level intervention, the chances of the restrictive provision being included in the final act dropped to “almost zero.” This move highlights the administration’s cautious attitude toward further tightening AI chip export policy at this time. Core Dispute of the Act: Prioritizing American Customers vs. “Countries of Concern” The controversial “GAIN AI Act” centers on reshaping the global supply chain allocation logic for AI chips, requiring chipmakers to satisfy U.S. customer orders before exporting products to “countries of concern.” Although the amended version of the act received positive responses from cloud giants like Amazon and Microsoft, for hardware producers like Nvidia, the act poses a direct regulatory risk and a threat to revenue. Therefore, the act’s failure to be included in the NDAA’s final version is good news for Nvidia and other semiconductor companies, removing fears that another round of export controls could disrupt their global revenue streams. Risk Warning and Disclaimer The market has risks—investing should be cautious. This article does not constitute personal investment advice, nor does it consider the special investment objectives, financial situation, or needs of individual users. Users should consider whether any opinions, views, or conclusions in this article suit their particular situations. Investments made based on this content are at your own risk.