By Jim Mishler | Thursday, December 11, 2025, 5:37 PM EST
Senator Dave McCormick, R-Pa., questioned President Donald Trump’s decision to allow the export of Nvidia’s H200-class artificial intelligence chips to China as part of broader negotiations on agricultural market access.
McCormick was asked this week at the Aspen Institute for his reaction to the administration’s decision to permit such exports.
“I’m concerned,” he said. “I’m not clear on why that is the right path for us, and I want to be convinced because I keep asking the question.”
He stated that the argument presented to him is that providing China with controlled, reduced-capability chips might slow Beijing’s efforts to advance its own technology.
“I don’t think that’s been the experience,” McCormick said. “I think you can count on China to be doing everything in its power to develop its own independent capacity, and that America’s position should be, in my opinion, doing everything we can to maintain a lead.”
McCormick added he does not see how exporting the chips would slow China’s progress.
“It appears to me that by exporting those chips, it’s not clear to me how that would in any way slow their advances, and it seems more likely that it would accelerate them,” he said.
McCormick explained that his concern led him to co-sponsor two bills aimed at limiting such exports: the GAIN AI Act and the SAFE Chips Act. He described those measures as designed to “put brakes on that” while Congress evaluates the national security implications.
He emphasized that maintaining U.S. leadership in advanced computing is central to competition with China.
The administration’s export decision applies to an H200-series chip, a reduced-power version of Nvidia’s top data-center hardware. This chip meets U.S. export-control rules because its interconnect speed, performance ceiling, and scalability are capped below thresholds that define restricted high-end systems.
Industry analysts describe the chip as functional but not top-tier, noting it was engineered specifically to comply with national security limits while still allowing limited commercial sales to China.
Supporters of the decision argue that controlled sales may stabilize trade channels without giving China access to cutting-edge capabilities. Critics contend that even reduced-power chips can help China advance its domestic AI development, particularly in training mid-scale systems that support military and state-directed projects.
McCormick said he remains open to administration briefings but does not see the strategic benefit of the decision.
“I certainly see the need to maintain leadership,” he said. “And I want to do everything I can to make sure America remains at the forefront of this important battle.”
