Report: Jensen Huang successfully lobbied, and the U.S. Congress will veto the AI chip export bill

NVIDIA's strong lobbying has achieved a key result, as the GAIN AI Act, aimed at restricting its sales of advanced AI chips to certain overseas markets, is expected not to be included in the U.S. annual defense bill.

According to media reports citing an informed source, the measures of the GAIN AI Act are currently not included in the final text of the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to be released on Friday. The bill originally planned to require chip manufacturers like NVIDIA and AMD to prioritize U.S. customer needs before exporting their powerful AI chips to restricted countries.

Although the informed source added that there is still a possibility of unexpected changes, the current progress is undoubtedly a positive signal for the chip industry.

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang subsequently described Congress's decision not to include the bill in the NDAA as "wise," stating that the GAIN AI Act poses significant potential harm to the U.S. This Wednesday, he personally traveled to Washington to meet with President Trump and several key lawmakers.

Jensen Huang's Personal Mediation in Washington

Jensen Huang's personal mediation is seen as a key step in advancing the situation. He appeared in Washington on Wednesday, meeting with several lawmakers in Congress. Outside Speaker Mike Johnson's office, Huang told reporters that the purpose of his visit was to "address questions about AI."

Huang has consistently argued that allowing U.S. companies to serve the global market ultimately benefits the U.S. His viewpoint has evidently resonated within the administration.

After Congress made its preliminary decision, Huang publicly stated that the GAIN AI Act "poses even greater harm to the U.S. than the AI Export Control Rule." Wallstreetcn mentioned that the AI Export Control Rule was issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce in January this year, categorizing the export destinations of chips from companies like NVIDIA into three major categories for regulation, intending to further restrict the export of AI chips and technology.

The Intense Lobbying Battle Comes to a Close

The shelving of the GAIN AI Act marks the end of an intense lobbying battle surrounding AI technology export controls.

The supporters of the bill are mainly composed of lawmakers with a hardline stance on national security and AI safety advocates, who hope to ensure the U.S. maintains its domestic AI computing power advantage through legislation.

On the other hand, the opposition camp consists of NVIDIA and other industry participants, who are concerned that such restrictions would stifle global competition and harm the market position of U.S. companies.

NVIDIA argues that the bill is unnecessary, as the company would not sacrifice supply to U.S. customers, and that restrictive trade policies would hinder innovation.

The White House May Intervene to Support Industry Positions

Wallstreetcn reported that, according to media reports citing four informed sources, the White House played a key role in this legislative battle. Reports indicate that key officials from the White House pressured Capitol Hill, urging lawmakers to exclude the GAIN AI Act from the annual defense authorization billAccording to reports, this action is led by the White House "AI Czar" David Sacks and has the support of the White House Office of Legislative Affairs. They directly called key lawmakers, including House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, to clearly express their opposition.

Insiders say that after high-level intervention, the likelihood of this restrictive provision being included in the final bill has dropped to "almost zero." This intervention highlights the cautious attitude within the administration regarding further tightening AI chip export policies at this juncture.

Core Controversy of the Bill: Prioritizing U.S. Customers and "Countries of Concern"

The controversial GAIN AI Act centers on reshaping the global supply chain distribution logic for AI chips, requiring chip companies to prioritize U.S. customer orders before exporting products to "countries of concern."

Although a modified version of the bill received positive responses from cloud service giants like Amazon and Microsoft, it poses direct regulatory risks and revenue threats for hardware manufacturers like NVIDIA.

Therefore, the bill's exclusion from the final version of the NDAA is good news for NVIDIA and other semiconductor companies, alleviating market concerns that a new round of export controls could disrupt their global revenue sources