Congressional Democrats are expressing serious concern over the possibility that the U. S. may soon begin selling advanced chips to one of its foremost geopolitical rivals. Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N. Y. , along with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. , sent a letter on Monday to Under Secretary for Industry and Security Jeffrey Kessler, demanding an explanation for why the Trump administration approved the sale of the H200 chip to China. "The President directing you to approve licenses for the H200 fits into a troubling pattern that threatens our nation’s security, " the Democratic lawmakers stated. Meeks based his inquiry on the Export Control Reform Act (ECRA), a 2018 law that governs federal authority over technology exports.

According to ECRA, the Department of Commerce is required to provide Congress with responses to concerns raised by the ranking members of the foreign affairs and armed services committees. "In ECRA, Congress declared that U. S. policy is ‘to restrict the export of items that would significantly enhance the military potential of any other country, ’" Meeks noted. Approving licenses for products like NVIDIA’s H200 chips—which the Justice Department recently identified as ‘integral to modern military applications’—contradicts the policy outlined by Congress in ECRA, " he added. The H200 chip, among the most advanced computational devices globally, represents NVIDIA’s top-tier technology and is crucial for processing increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence. The Biden administration initially ordered NVIDIA to halt sales to China in 2022. "The government stated that the new licensing requirement aims to mitigate risks that these products might be used in, or diverted to, a ‘military end use’ or ‘military end user’ in China, " the company noted in a filing. Several lawmakers, including Meeks, worry that permitting sales to China will only strengthen a rival that has shown no hesitation in weaponizing technology. In recent years, Congress has banned government employees from using Chinese-made Huawei devices and passed legislation last year mandating the divestment from TikTok over concerns about China’s extensive access to the data collected by the app. To Meeks, the recent decision to resume sales of the H200 chip—to China and other potential competitors—seems inconsistent with earlier caution. "Just last month, you approved exporting tens of thousands of advanced AI chips valued at approximately $1 billion to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, despite serious concerns over their human rights records and close ties with the People’s Republic of China, " Meeks wrote. While some Republicans share Meeks' concerns, others argue that the Trump administration’s reversal aligns with a broader strategy to maintain American competitive advantage in the coming years. Meeks and Warren have requested that the administration provide explanations for the decision by January 12, 2026.