Bipartisan Backlash Over Trump’s Nvidia-AMD China Chip Deal

The Trump administration's decision to allow Nvidia and AMD to sell restricted AI chips to China in exchange for financial payments has triggered rare bipartisan criticism. Lawmakers warn the move risks creating a 'pay-for-play' system for sensitive technology exports, undermining decades of U.S. national security protocols.

The agreement reverses previous export bans and introduces a controversial precedent where access to cutting-edge semiconductors can be negotiated. House Select Committee on China Chair John Moolenaar (R-MI) and ranking Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi both condemned the arrangement, arguing it could accelerate China's AI military capabilities.

The deal coincides with broader negotiations over rare earth minerals, revealing how technological supremacy has become entangled with economic statecraft. Nvidia's potential ability to sell downgraded Blackwell chips to China adds another LAYER to the unfolding geopolitical chess game around semiconductor dominance.