Chip export approvals stall

U.S. approvals for Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices artificial-intelligence chip exports to China are slowing as the Commerce Department office that issues licenses loses staff and pushes more decisions to senior officials. (ttnews.com) Bloomberg, cited by Transport Topics on April 10, reported that the Bureau of Industry and Security has had nearly 20% turnover among rulemaking and licensing staff over the past year. The same report said approvals that once moved on more predictable timelines are now stretching for several months. (ttnews.com) That office sits inside the U.S. Department of Commerce and reviews whether sensitive technology can be shipped abroad without undermining national-security rules. In fiscal 2023, the bureau processed nearly 38,000 license applications and averaged 38 days per application, according to its annual report to Congress. (bis.gov) The bottleneck lands in the middle of a policy change Washington made on January 13, 2026. The Bureau of Industry and Security said then that export applications for Nvidia H200, Advanced Micro Devices MI325X, and similar chips to China would be reviewed case by case if applicants met security conditions. (bis.gov) Those conditions include showing that shipments will not reduce semiconductor capacity available to U.S. customers, that the Chinese buyer has export-compliance procedures, and that the chip has passed independent testing in the United States. A case-by-case standard can expand sales in theory, but it also creates more paperwork and more judgment calls for a thinner staff. (bis.gov) For chipmakers, the delay is not just administrative. Advanced Micro Devices told investors on February 3 that it expects about $100 million of Instinct MI308 sales to China in the first quarter of 2026, tying part of its near-term revenue to approvals that now appear less predictable. (ir.amd.com) For Nvidia, China remains a constrained but still meaningful market. In its annual report filed February 26, 2025, Nvidia said its data-center revenue in China grew in fiscal 2025, though it remained well below levels seen before the October 2023 export controls. (sec.gov) The staffing problem also reaches beyond China chip sales. Bloomberg’s April 10 report said the bureau is also handling reviews tied to exports to the Middle East and industry investigations connected to President Donald Trump’s tariff agenda, adding work at the same time experienced staff are leaving. (ttnews.com) The result is a system that now says more exports can be approved, but cannot move them through as quickly as before. Until the Bureau of Industry and Security rebuilds licensing capacity, the timetable for shipping advanced U.S. chips to China looks likely to stay uneven. (bis.gov)