NVIDIA and AMD are reportedly lobbying the Trump administration to relax China restrictions in the defense bill.
Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices are reportedly pushing the Trump administration to pressure Congress into dropping China-related chip export restrictions from the National Defense Authorization Act. According to Politico, the companies want the administration to intervene directly with lawmakers to strip provisions that would tighten oversight of chip sales to China.
The companies are particularly focused on provisions tied to the AI OVERWATCH Act, introduced by Representative Brian Mast (R-FL) and Senator Jim Banks (R-IN). That legislation would codify restrictions on exports of the most advanced AI chips to countries of concern and give Congress greater oversight over the Commerce Department's export licensing process. The Senate version was included in the fiscal 2027 NDAA in July. Industry officials have stated that some of the legislation would be difficult for chip companies to implement. Nvidia and AMD are seeking changes to the provisions rather than a broader rollback of all China-related controls.
The companies also see room to negotiate the Chip Security Act, which would require greater tracking of where advanced chips ultimately end up. Nvidia and AMD are seeking clarity that the requirements would not force hardware changes and want more time to comply.
According to Politico, Nvidia and AMD have stated that overly broad restrictions could encourage China to accelerate development of domestic AI chips while limiting the U.S. industry's access to the Chinese market.
The lobbying effort comes at a sensitive moment for Nvidia, with CEO Jensen Huang maintaining close ties with the Trump administration. Huang is expected to participate in a White House AI meeting with President Donald Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson. Huang and AMD CEO Lisa Su were also seated at the head table with Trump during the White House state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping last week.
The effort comes as lawmakers like Senator Elizabeth Warren push for tighter restrictions on China's access to advanced AI chips. Trump has previously taken a more permissive approach toward certain advanced chip sales to China, including allowing Nvidia and AMD to sell some chips to the country in exchange for a share of the resulting revenue.
In related moves, Nvidia announced a $150 billion increase to its share repurchase authorization, bringing the remaining amount under the program to $235 billion. The company said it expects to execute the remaining authorization through fiscal 2028. Nvidia also launched its Open Agent Safety Platform, combining its OpenShell open-source software with a Sentry reference design intended to provide controls around AI agents from testing through deployment. More than 100 organizations are participating in the initiative, including Microsoft, Anthropic, Salesforce, Palantir Technologies, CrowdStrike and JPMorgan Chase.