The White House has asked Congress to require the Commerce Department to write a rule blocking remote access to certain AI chips, The Information reported. The request targets a route Chinese AI companies use to reach restricted processors without importing them, and Nvidia has lobbied against closing it.
The White House has asked Congress to require the Commerce Department to write a rule blocking remote access to certain AI chips, according to The Information. The rule would target a way Chinese AI companies can use restricted processors without importing them.
White House officials shared feedback with congressional staff in late October on export-control measures being considered for annual policy legislation, the outlet reported. It also reported that Nvidia has lobbied against closing the remote-access gap. The request is for legislation requiring a rule, not a restriction already in force.
Renting compute sidesteps shipment limits
The gap separates buying a chip from renting its computing power. Chinese AI companies can rent capacity from an overseas cloud or data-center operator that owns advanced processors, while the hardware stays outside China. In a March analysis, export-control lawyers at Latham & Watkins said restrictions on physical shipments of high-end graphics processors generally did not prevent remote access to chips in the United States or other countries not subject to an export-license requirement.
That route remains commercially relevant. CNBC reported on Nov. 5, citing people familiar with the discussions, that Chinese model developer Moonshot AI had sought to rent access to Nvidia Blackwell systems in European data centers. The report described talks, not completed deals.
Legislation and Nvidia's response
A separate proposal, the Remote Access Security Act, shows how controls could reach beyond chip exporters. Its House-passed text would explicitly extend export-control authority to foreign users' remote access to items under U.S. jurisdiction and to companies providing that access. The House passed it on Jan. 12.
Granting that authority and requiring Commerce to write a restriction are different steps, and the reported White House request seeks the latter. The precise chip models, customers and provider obligations would depend on the legislative and regulatory text.
Nvidia has defended the overseas reach of American AI infrastructure. In a statement reported by CNBC on Nov. 5, a company spokesperson said: "America cannot win the AI race unless America's AI infrastructure wins worldwide."
Congressional pressure is also continuing. On Nov. 9, Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Jim Banks urged passage of the AI Overwatch Act in the annual defense policy bill.
Source: The Defiant
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