U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen, Chris Coons, Jack Reed, Elizabeth Warren, Brian Schatz, Andy Kim, Michael Bennet, and Elissa Slotkin have issued a joint statement criticizing the Trump administration’s decision to permit NVIDIA to export its advanced H200 AI chips to China.
In their statement, the senators called the move "a colossal economic and national security failure." They said that the H200 chips are "vastly more capable than anything China can make" and warned that allowing their export would "squander America’s primary advantage in the AI race."
The senators argued that providing these chips could enhance China's military technology and cyber capabilities. They also cited recent comments from Chinese AI company DeepSeek, which identified limited access to American-designed AI chips as a major obstacle for competing with U.S. firms. The senators stated: "With this decision, President Trump is poised to remove that barrier."
They emphasized bipartisan agreement on the importance of ensuring that future leading AI systems reflect democratic values rather than those of authoritarian regimes. Their statement concluded: "President Trump must reverse course and recommit to preserving American dominance in AI."
