U.S. export bureaucracy slows licenses
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security has lost nearly 20% of its licensing staff, and that staffing shortfall is delaying approvals for major AI‑chip exports such as Nvidia and AMD shipments to China — effectively turning licence processing into a supply‑chain variable rather than a simple policy change. The reporting cites both the staff turnover and stalled approvals as operational facts that are already affecting shipment timing and supplier commitments. (tomshardware.com)
A staffing crunch inside the Commerce Department is slowing export licenses for advanced United States chips, delaying Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices shipments that Washington already said could go forward. (finance.yahoo.com) The office at the center of the delays is the Bureau of Industry and Security, which reviews exports of sensitive technology. Bloomberg reported the bureau has lost 101 employees since 2024, a 19% drop, and turnover among rulemaking and licensing staff is running near 20%. (bloomberg.com) The backlog is showing up in processing times. Bloomberg said average turnaround for licenses rose to 76 days in the first half of 2025, up from 38 days in 2023, while approvals for some Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices chip exports now stretch into months. (finance.yahoo.com) This is not a case of the government newly banning the chips in question. On January 13, 2026, the Bureau of Industry and Security said it would review license applications for Nvidia H200, Advanced Micro Devices MI325X and similar chips for China on a case-by-case basis under specified security conditions. (bis.gov) That means the choke point has shifted from written policy to administrative capacity. A chipmaker can have a product that fits the rule and a customer ready to buy, but the shipment still waits if the license file does not move. (bis.gov) (finance.yahoo.com) The delays hit products the Trump administration spent months trying to reopen for sale. Bloomberg said Nvidia still had not sold a single H200 into China months after the White House cleared the path, despite receiving orders, and said approvals for Advanced Micro Devices MI308 exports also run through the same bureau. (finance.yahoo.com) The same office is also handling other politically sensitive work. Bloomberg said Bureau of Industry and Security staff have been pulled across tariff investigations, Middle East chip export reviews and, since late February, work tied to the Iran war, leaving less time for routine licensing. (bloomberg.com) Some of those licenses are more complex than a standard yes-or-no review. Bloomberg reported that export permissions for shipments to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates came with dollar-for-dollar United States investment matching requirements, forcing individual negotiations instead of template approvals. (finance.yahoo.com) The Bureau of Industry and Security publishes performance data, but the public dashboard mainly shows annual indicators and does not give companies a live queue for specific chip cases. That leaves suppliers and customers planning around an approval process that can change delivery dates by weeks or months. (performance.commerce.gov) (finance.yahoo.com) So the practical question for Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and their customers is no longer only whether Washington allows a sale. It is whether the government office that signs the paperwork has enough people to finish it on time. (bloomberg.com)
