US export approvals are stalling
Approvals for Nvidia and AMD AI chip exports to China are stalling because the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security has experienced nearly 20% staff turnover in licensing and rulemaking roles. The report notes that Nvidia had not sold a single H200 to China nearly three months after receiving regulatory go‑ahead. (tomshardware.com)
U.S. approvals for Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices artificial-intelligence chip exports are piling up inside the Commerce Department, where staff losses have slowed the office that signs off on sensitive sales. (bloomberg.com) The bottleneck sits at the Bureau of Industry and Security, the agency that writes export rules and reviews licenses. Bloomberg reported on April 10 that the bureau lost dozens of experienced employees over the past year, amounting to nearly 20% turnover in licensing and rulemaking jobs. (bloomberg.com) The same report said reviews that once moved faster are now stretching for months and creating billions of dollars in export backlogs, including shipments for U.S. allies. Trade publication Transport Topics, citing Bloomberg, said processed licenses are down about 25%. (bloomberg.com) (ttnews.com) The delay is colliding with a January policy change that reopened a narrow path for some China sales. On January 13, 2026, the Bureau of Industry and Security issued a final rule moving Nvidia H200 and Advanced Micro Devices MI325X exports to China and Macau from a presumption of denial to case-by-case review, effective January 15. (cov.com) (bis.gov) That change did not mean automatic approval. The rule kept license requirements in place, required independent laboratory testing in the United States before export, and left reexports and in-country transfers in China and Macau under a presumption of denial. (cov.com) Semiconductors are the core components that power servers, phones and artificial-intelligence systems, and Congress’s research service calls them essential building blocks for artificial intelligence and national security. Since 2018, Washington has tightened controls to limit China’s access to the most advanced chips and the computing power behind them. (congress.gov) The current slowdown lands in the middle of a wider White House push to sell more American chips abroad. Bloomberg said the same bureau is also vetting Nvidia sales to the Middle East while handling tariff-related investigations across sectors including autos, steel and semiconductors. (bloomberg.com) (bis.gov) Nvidia’s China business shows how the delays can outlast a policy shift. Chief executive Jensen Huang said on March 17 that Nvidia had received purchase orders from China and was restarting H200 manufacturing after getting licensed for many customers there. (cnbc.com) (bloomberg.com) The Bureau of Industry and Security is still adding work even as staffing remains under strain. On April 7, the agency said it extended the deadline for companies seeking “approved integrated circuit designer” status through December 31, 2026, giving companies more time to apply and the bureau more time to process applications. (bis.gov) For chipmakers, the rulebook has loosened since January, but the line at the licensing window has not. Until that queue moves, export policy on paper and export approvals in practice will keep looking like two different things. (bloomberg.com)
