Congress is considering legislation that would force Nvidia and AMD to prioritize sales of their most powerful GPUs to US customers before exporting them to foreign markets, including China. The GAIN AI Act of 2025, now included in the Senate’s draft of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2026, aims to address supply shortages that leave American businesses, startups, and universities waiting months for critical AI chips while these same processors are sold abroad.
What you should know: The legislation would establish a “right-of-first-refusal” system for US customers seeking the most advanced GPUs needed for AI development.
- Nvidia and AMD could only apply for export licenses to ship GPUs to countries like China if they have “no current backlog of requests from United States persons for the circuit or product or a comparable circuit or product.”
- Companies would also be prohibited from “providing advantageous pricing or terms” to foreign buyers over US customers.
- The bill targets both top-tier chips currently banned from export and lower-tier GPUs that might still be exported to China.
The big picture: Current US export controls already block Nvidia’s most powerful GPUs like the RTX 4090 and RTX 5090 from reaching China, but the company secured approval this summer to sell the less powerful H20 enterprise GPU to Chinese markets.
- President Trump has hinted at potentially allowing exports of newer GPUs with downgraded Blackwell architecture to China.
- The GAIN AI Act could block such exports, as it restricts “the export of less advanced artificial intelligence chips to foreign entities in countries of concern so long as United States entities are waiting and unable to acquire those same chips.”
Why this matters: The legislation addresses a critical supply-demand imbalance that supporters argue hampers American AI development and competitiveness.
- “The demand for advanced artificial intelligence chips far exceeds the supply, and United States persons are forced to wait many months, if not longer, to acquire the latest chips,” the bill states.
- Americans for Responsible Innovation, a nonprofit advocacy group, calls it a “huge win” for US tech industry competitiveness and national security.
What they’re saying: Advocacy groups emphasize the strategic importance of keeping advanced chips within US borders during supply constraints.
- “Globally, these chips are supply-constrained, which means that every advanced chip sold abroad is a chip the US can’t use to accelerate American R&D and economic growth,” said Brad Carson, president of Americans for Responsible Innovation.
- Nvidia responded to recent rumors by stating: “The rumor that H20 reduced our supply of either H100/H200 or Blackwell is also categorically false—selling H20 has no impact on our ability to supply other Nvidia products.”
Current status: The GAIN AI Act has been included in the Senate’s latest draft of the defense authorization bill, though the legislation is still moving through the legislative process.
- Nvidia reported last week that it hasn’t yet shipped any H20 GPUs to China due to ongoing “geopolitical issues” between the US and Chinese governments.
- Neither Nvidia nor AMD immediately responded to requests for comment about the proposed legislation.
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