Export approvals stall
Approvals for some Nvidia and AMD AI-chip exports to China have slowed not because of blanket bans but because the Commerce Bureau’s approval office is struggling with staffing and turnover, reportedly about 20% attrition. Companies have theoretical permission to sell certain parts, yet commercial shipments remain blocked without explicit sign-offs from Washington. (startupnews.fyi, xataka.com)
Washington has opened a legal path for some Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices artificial intelligence chips to reach China, but many shipments are still stuck waiting for case-by-case export sign-offs. (bis.gov, finance.yahoo.com) The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security changed its policy on January 13, 2026, saying it would review Nvidia H200, Advanced Micro Devices MI325X and similar chips individually instead of treating them as automatic denials. The rule took effect immediately and required customer screening, third-party testing in the United States and proof that exports would not cut supply for U.S. buyers. (bis.gov) Bloomberg reported on April 14 that the office handling those licenses has lost nearly 20% of its staff in the past year, pushing approval times into months. The report said companies can line up customers and file applications, but commercial exports cannot move without explicit approval from Washington. (finance.yahoo.com) That backlog comes after a sharper clampdown in April 2025, when the United States imposed new license requirements on Nvidia’s H20 and Advanced Micro Devices’ MI308 chips for China. Nvidia said the move would trigger a $5.5 billion quarterly charge, and Advanced Micro Devices said it could face charges of up to $800 million. (cnbc.com, cnbc.com) The January 2026 rule was supposed to create a narrower channel for sales of high-end chips that sit below the most tightly restricted tier. Instead, the licensing office itself has become the choke point, according to Bloomberg’s account of current and former officials, lawyers and company executives. (bis.gov, finance.yahoo.com) The bureau is also carrying a wider workload than chip licenses alone. Transport Topics, citing the same Bloomberg reporting, said the agency is handling industry investigations tied to tariffs on sectors including autos and steel while also reviewing chip exports to China and the Middle East. (ttnews.com) Nvidia has already told investors that China remains a smaller data-center market than it was before the October 2023 export controls, even after growth in fiscal 2025. That makes each approved product line important: companies are trying to preserve access to a market that still matters, but under tighter technical and political limits. (publicnow.com, sec.gov) The Commerce Department said in January that controlled H200 sales would “strengthen the American technology ecosystem.” For now, the policy says yes in theory, while the licensing queue keeps saying not yet. (bis.gov, finance.yahoo.com)
