Washington: In a significant bipartisan push to preserve America’s technological edge in artificial intelligence, a group of U.S. senators on Thursday introduced a new bill aimed at preventing President Donald Trump from rolling back export restrictions on advanced AI-grade semiconductor chips destined for China and other geopolitical rivals.
The proposed legislation titled the SAFE CHIPS Act marks one of the strongest congressional attempts yet to rein in executive authority over high-tech trade, especially as the Trump administration signals openness to easing controls implemented over the past two years.
The bill is co-sponsored by Republican Senator Pete Ricketts and Democratic Senator Chris Coons, with strong backing from lawmakers across party lines, including GOP Senators Tom Cotton and Dave McCormick, and Democratic Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Andy Kim.
Their unified stance underscores a rare bipartisan convergence: deep concern that U.S.-designed AI chips critical for both civilian and military applications could accelerate China’s technological and defense capabilities if export barriers are reduced.
Speaking about the urgency of the legislation, supporters argued that today’s advanced chips are “the new strategic weapons” shaping the future of warfare, intelligence operations, and global technological supremacy.
Under the SAFE CHIPS Act, the U.S. Commerce Department would be barred from approving any licenses for the sale of high-performance artificial intelligence chips to certain countries for a period of 30 months. The legislation specifically targets nations considered potential threats to U.S. national security, including China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. In addition to these countries, the bill also covers any other nation that the U.S. government may designate as a security risk during this period. The measure is designed to ensure that critical AI technology does not fall into the hands of adversaries, thereby safeguarding America’s technological and strategic advantage.
After this 30-month freeze, any future proposal to loosen controls would require the administration to notify Congress at least 30 days in advance, giving lawmakers time to review or challenge the decision.
This procedural requirement effectively shifts some decision-making power away from the White House and toward Congress.
The move comes amid growing speculation that the Trump administration may soften the stringent export rules imposed in recent years, particularly after high-profile discussions between President Trump and NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang about U.S. chip restrictions and their impact on global markets.
Industry giants such as NVIDIA and AMD have repeatedly urged the government to consider easing rules, arguing that China represents a massive market for AI computing hardware. Restrictions, they say, strain revenues, curb innovation investments, and encourage China to accelerate its own semiconductor independence.
However, national-security officials and many members of Congress view any loosening as dangerous.
Lawmakers supporting the bill warn that exporting advanced AI chips to China could significantly strengthen Beijing’s strategic and military capabilities. They argue that such high-performance processors would enable China to enhance its military decision-making systems through faster data processing and improved battlefield analytics. These chips could also help the country scale its vast surveillance networks, making them more efficient and intrusive. Moreover, access to cutting-edge AI hardware could expand China’s cyber-warfare capabilities, allowing for more sophisticated offensive and defensive operations in the digital domain. Finally, lawmakers caution that the technology could accelerate the development and deployment of autonomous weapons systems, potentially altering the global security landscape in ways unfavourable to U.S. interests.
Exporting such chips, they say, would “hand over the tools of the next technological battlefield.”
The bipartisan group insisted that economic interests cannot override long-term national security. “If the U.S. loses dominance in AI computing,” one co-sponsor warned, “we risk losing far more than market share we risk losing global stability.”
Major semiconductor companies remain torn. While acknowledging national-security risks, the firms insist that shutting off the Chinese market could cost billions of dollars and limit manufacturing scale.
Tech industry lobbyists argue that China represents a crucial share of the global demand for advanced semiconductor chips, making the market too large and influential for U.S. companies to ignore. They warn that imposing excessively strict export controls will only accelerate China’s push to develop its own domestic alternatives, ultimately reducing American influence over the global technology landscape. Additionally, lobbyists contend that shutting U.S. firms out of such a major market would weaken their revenues and scale of operations, diminishing their capacity to invest in research and innovation a setback that could erode America’s long-term competitiveness in cutting-edge chip development.
The SAFE CHIPS Act could widen the gap between government security priorities and corporate commercial interests.
The bill arrives as part of a much larger geopolitical contest, with AI at its centre. The U.S. sees chips as the foundational infrastructure for the next generation of military dominance, economic leadership, and global influence.
China, meanwhile, has made self-reliance in semiconductors a national mission.
The outcome of this legislative move could reshape far more than just U.S.–China relations. By restricting the flow of cutting-edge AI chips, it has the potential to disrupt global supply chains that depend on American semiconductor technology, forcing countries and companies to reconsider sourcing strategies and long-term investments. The decision may also reverberate across AI research ecosystems worldwide, as access to high-performance chips is essential for training advanced models and sustaining scientific collaboration. In the defense arena, it could influence military innovation trajectories, particularly in nations seeking to enhance autonomous systems, intelligence capabilities and cyber operations. Ultimately, the legislation could tilt the broader balance of technological power in the 21st century, defining who leads and who follows in the race for AI dominance.
The SAFE CHIPS Act must now move through committee review before a full Senate vote. Given the bipartisan backing, the bill stands a strong chance of advancing, though the White House is expected to negotiate or push back against limits on executive authority.
If approved, the legislation would significantly constrain the Trump administration’s ability to adjust AI-chip export controls, ensuring that restrictions remain firmly in place regardless of shifting diplomatic or economic pressures.