Senator Presses Commerce to Address China's Evasion of Chip Controls

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., urged the Commerce Department July 8 to increase its efforts to stem the flow of advanced computing chips to China.

Although the U.S. has imposed export controls on such shipments in recent years (see 2310170055), recent news reports show that buyers and sellers have found ways around the restrictions, Kennedy wrote in a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

Kennedy is concerned that the chips, made by Nvidia and other companies, could enhance China’s artificial intelligence capabilities and help its military in such tasks as guiding hypersonic missiles, setting up advanced surveillance systems, and cracking top-secret U.S. codes. He asked that Commerce update him by Aug. 8 on how it's addressing the matter.

A Commerce spokesperson said July 9 that the department has “received the letter and will respond through the appropriate channels.” An Nvidia spokesperson declined to comment.

Kennedy’s letter came less than six months after Sens. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., asked the Government Accountability Office in January to assess the effectiveness of new export controls aimed at preventing China from obtaining advanced chips and the equipment to manufacture them (see 2401240025). Romney and Hassan requested a written report by Dec. 1.