Chip export approvals are stalling

U.S. approvals for Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices to ship some artificial-intelligence chips to China are slowing as the Commerce Department’s export-control office loses staff and reviews pile up. (finance.yahoo.com) Bloomberg, cited by multiple outlets on April 13 and April 14, reported that the Bureau of Industry and Security has shed 101 employees since 2024, a 19% drop, and that turnover among licensing and rulemaking staff has approached 20%. The same reporting said approvals that once took weeks are now stretching into months. (finance.yahoo.com) The Bureau of Industry and Security is the Commerce Department office that reviews export licenses for sensitive goods, including advanced semiconductors that can be used for both commercial computing and military systems. Federal export rules say the office handles license applications under Part 750 of the Export Administration Regulations. (bis.gov) The delays land after Washington loosened one part of its China chip policy on January 13, 2026. The Bureau of Industry and Security said it would review applications for Nvidia H200, Advanced Micro Devices MI325X, and similar chips on a case-by-case basis instead of starting from a presumption of denial. (bis.gov) That January rule did not create a free pass. Exporters still have to certify supply for U.S. customers, show that China shipments will not divert foundry capacity, document customer security procedures, and submit the chips to third-party testing in the United States. (federalregister.gov) The backlog adds another turn after a year of policy reversals. On December 2, 2024, the Bureau of Industry and Security tightened controls on advanced computing and semiconductor manufacturing items tied to China, and in April 2025 Nvidia said Washington had imposed a license requirement on its China-focused H20 chip. (bis.gov) (cnbc.com) Nvidia said on July 15, 2025 that the U.S. government had assured it licenses would be granted for H20 sales to China and that it hoped to restart deliveries soon. Reuters and follow-up coverage later reported that licenses still were not moving quickly, leaving orders in limbo. (cnbc.com) (datacenterdynamics.com) Official Commerce data shows how much slower the process has become. The Bureau of Industry and Security said its average license application processing time was 38 days in fiscal 2023; Bloomberg’s April 2026 reporting put the average at 76 days in the first half of 2025. (bis.gov) (newsdefused.com) The Commerce Department has also loaded the same bureau with new work beyond chip licensing. Recent Bureau of Industry and Security materials show it is simultaneously running Section 232 investigations on sectors including semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, critical minerals, robotics, and commercial aircraft. (bis.gov) For Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices, the immediate issue is not only whether Washington allows a shipment in principle, but whether the office that signs the paperwork can move fast enough to turn policy into exports. (ttnews.com)