.Warren says Trump’s Plan to Sell Nvidia Chips to China Endangers National Security

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D‑Mass., speaks during a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee confirmation hearing on President Donald Trump’s nominees to lead the National Economic Council, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Federal Housing Finance Agency, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 27 2025.

Annabelle Gordon | Reuters

President Donald Trump’s recent decision to allow Nvidia to sell its high‑performance H200 artificial‑intelligence chips to “approved customers” in China has ignited a bipartisan firestorm in Washington. Senator Elizabeth Warren warned that the move “sells out American national security” and called for immediate congressional action to tighten export controls.

Warren also urged Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to appear before Congress and answer detailed questions about the agreement, the licensing process, and any potential concessions made to the White House.

The announcement came three days after Trump posted on social media that the U.S. semiconductor giant could export the chips to China provided the United States receives a 25 percent royalty on the revenue. The proposal drew criticism not only from Democrats but also from a number of Republican lawmakers who have long argued that maintaining a hardware advantage is essential to U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence.

Corporate Response

In a statement to the press, a Nvidia spokesperson clarified that sales of the H200 to China would still require a U.S. government license and that the volume would be “a small fraction of the Hopper and Blackwell compute already sold to U.S. customers.” The spokesperson added that the earlier authorization of the less powerful H20 chip demonstrated that “selling H20 was good for America’s economic and national security.” They argued that blocking H20 shipments resulted in billions of dollars of lost revenue and allowed foreign AI‑chip firms to fill the gap and grow rapidly.

“America’s foreign competitors and the administration’s critics are pushing the same end—forcing massive commercial markets to support and promote foreign competition,” the spokesperson concluded.

Legislative Pushback

Warren called on Congress to pass bipartisan legislation that would curtail the administration’s ability to grant export licenses for advanced AI hardware. She warned that allowing China unfettered access to the H200 “poses a serious threat to our technological leadership and national security.” Critics of the proposed restrictions argue that overly stringent controls could hamper U.S. chipmakers’ competitiveness and drive research and development overseas.

She also referenced a recent Department of Justice operation that dismantled a major China‑linked AI‑technology smuggling network, underscoring the broader concern that illicit supply chains could undermine U.S. security objectives.

Strategic Implications

The debate over the H200 chips reflects a larger strategic crossroads for the United States:

• AI Race Dynamics: Advanced GPUs like the H200 are critical for training large‑scale language models and other AI workloads. If Chinese firms gain unrestricted access, they could accelerate the development of homegrown AI systems, narrowing the gap with U.S. leaders.
• Economic Stakes: Nvidia’s revenue from the H200 is projected to run into the billions. A 25 percent royalty could generate a substantial new stream for the Treasury, but it also raises questions about whether the revenue offset justifies the potential dilution of the U.S. technology edge.
• Supply‑Chain Security: Export licensing offers a lever to monitor end‑use and ensure chips do not end up in military or surveillance applications. Critics claim the current licensing framework lacks transparency and could be circumvented through third‑party distributors.
• Domestic Innovation Incentives: Stricter controls may encourage American firms to invest more heavily in next‑generation architectures, but could also push customers overseas, weakening the domestic market for high‑end GPUs.

Political Context

Warren’s remarks framed the decision as a “bad deal that sells out the American economy and national security,” accusing the administration of placing money above strategic considerations. She pointed to Jensen Huang’s attendance at a $1 million‑per‑plate dinner at the Mar‑a‑Lago resort and Nvidia’s donations to the White House ballroom renovation as possible indicators of close ties between the company and the Trump administration.

“In this administration, money talks,” Warren said. “Mr. Huang understands that cozying up to the president might be the most valuable corporate skill of all.” While the senator did not present concrete evidence of impropriety, she suggested that the optics of such relationships warrant rigorous congressional scrutiny.

Outlook

As the Senate deliberates, the next few weeks will determine whether the H200 export policy is revised, maintained, or tightened. The outcome will have ripple effects across the global AI ecosystem, influencing everything from cloud‑service pricing to the pace of research in autonomous systems. For investors, the key takeaways are clear: policy risk is escalating, and companies that rely on cutting‑edge semiconductor technology must be prepared for rapid regulatory shifts.