Jensen Huang impresses Trump? Reports say the White House pressures Congress to block the bill restricting AI chip exports

The White House is taking proactive steps to intervene in the legislative process, aiming to prevent a new bill aimed at restricting AI chip exports from being included in the annual defense budget. If this move is ultimately successful, it would signify a significant victory for semiconductor giants like NVIDIA in maintaining access to overseas markets.

On Thursday, media reports citing four informed sources indicated that key officials from the White House are pressuring Capitol Hill, urging lawmakers to exclude the GAIN AI Act from the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). It is reported that as a must-pass defense legislation, if the restrictive provision fails to make it into the final version of the NDAA, the likelihood of its implementation will become negligible.

The current negotiation situation is in flux. Informed sources revealed that the White House Office of Legislative Affairs has intervened in the matter, supporting the efforts led by "AI Tsar" David Sacks, and has directly contacted key lawmakers such as House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, explicitly requesting them to oppose the bill. This has reduced the chances of the restrictive measure being included in the final bill to "almost zero."

As negotiators from both chambers of Congress race against time to finalize the text of the annual defense policy bill before Thanksgiving, the timing of this intervention is particularly critical. According to the current legislative timeline, both chambers plan to vote on the bill in December.

"AI Tsar" Teams Up with the White House to Block the Bill

According to reports, the effort to block the bill is led by David Sacks and has quickly gained strong support from the White House. David Sacks has been leading lobbying efforts aimed at abandoning the bill, and this initiative has now received formal backing from the White House Office of Legislative Affairs.

Informed sources pointed out that officials from the executive branch have taken substantive actions by directly communicating opposition to senior congressional leaders like Steve Scalise, attempting to exert influence during the critical window for finalizing the legislation. This high-level intervention reflects a cautious attitude within the executive branch regarding further tightening AI chip export policies at this juncture.

As of now, the bill's sponsor, Senator Jim Banks, and the White House have not responded to requests for comments.

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang's Market Advocacy Recognized

The shift in the White House's stance is closely related to NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang's ongoing lobbying efforts. Reports indicate that if the GAIN AI Act ultimately fails, NVIDIA will be the biggest beneficiary.

Jensen Huang has consistently advocated for developing global markets and has successfully persuaded key executive officials.

His core argument is that allowing American companies to serve these markets will ultimately benefit the United States. Although Huang previously faced disagreements for requesting Trump to sell AI chips to foreign countries, his broader argument for maintaining market access has evidently resonated within the White House, demonstrating his influence on policy-making in the executive branch.

Core Controversy of the Bill: Prioritizing U.S. Customers vs. "Countries of Concern"

The controversial GAIN AI Act aims to reshape the supply chain distribution logic of AI chips. The core provision of the act requires chip companies to prioritize fulfilling orders from U.S. customers before exporting products to "concerned countries."

Additionally, the act includes specific export license exemptions for "trusted" entities. While a modified version of the act had previously received positive responses from companies like Amazon and Microsoft, it poses a direct regulatory risk for hardware manufacturers that heavily rely on the global chip export market. Currently, with strong intervention from the White House, this attempt to solidify export priorities through legislation is facing the possibility of failure.

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