A group of 20 national security experts and former government officials has urged the Trump administration to reverse its recent decision allowing Nvidia to sell its H20 AI chips in China. As of today, U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has approved the resumption of Nvidia’s sales. Nevertheless, this decision has raised alarm bells as it relates to national security and maintaining our competitive advantage in artificial intelligence technology.
Nvidia created the H20 chip to maximize inference performance. This performance leap significantly enhances the capabilities of cutting-edge large language models for AI reasoning. At the start of this year, officials first prohibited the chip’s export. They warned against its potential military uses in the hands of their Chinese adversaries. Even Lutnick specifically referred to the H20 as Nvidia’s “fourth best” AI chip. So, earlier this month, he lifted the ban and let sales resume.
In their letter, the interdisciplinary group of experts sounded an alarm. They argued that permitting additional H20 chip sales to China would further exacerbate the current chokepoint in the U.S. AI chip market. They argued that the H20, far from being an outdated technology, serves as a “potent accelerator of China’s frontier AI capabilities.” The letter highlighted the long-term strategic consequences of exporting this technology to a country seen as our greatest competitor.
The experts went into detail about why they’re worried about the prospects of H20 chips being used in deepening China’s military muscle. They cautioned that returning to the status quo on sales would further undermine U.S. chip export control efforts across the board. This may end up eroding the U.S.’s current military and civilian AI application advantage.
“The decision to ban H20 exports earlier this year was the right one.”
The letter seem the administration’s recent decision to allow in-person sales a “strategic misstep.” It cautioned that, in doing so, this decision would risk national security and erode our technological superiority. The signatories ranged from influential figures like Matt Pottinger and Stewart Baker to the administration’s own David Feith.
Meanwhile, the U.S. and China are embroiled in intensely adversarial trade negotiations. These talks, particularly concerning the trade of rare earth elements, are probably influencing the timing of a decision on export of chips. Experts agree the risks presented by the H20 chip are serious. They feel these risks outweigh the positive potential economic impacts from its sales.
