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AI chip export controls

AI chip processor on dark circuit board against cracked Chinese flag, BIS AI chip export controls 2026.

BIS Confirms AI Chip Export Controls Apply to Chinese-Owned Companies Worldwide

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The rules cover advanced AI chip models, restricting sales based on the buyer’s country of origin rather than their location.

 

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued guidance confirming that export license requirements for high-end AI chips apply to any Chinese or Macau-owned company, wherever it operates. An export license requires government permission to sell restricted technology to a specific buyer. For advanced AI chips, a U.S. company cannot complete the sale without prior approval from the Commerce Department.  The requirement has applied to Chinese-owned companies since 2023, regardless of where they are incorporated.

 

The confusion arose in 2025. The Biden administration’s AI Diffusion Rule added a broader set of chip export restrictions based on destination country. When the Trump administration announced in May 2025 that it would not enforce those new requirements, some exporters read it as a pause on all chip export controls. It was not. BIS is clarifying that the 2023 ownership-based rule was always in effect and remains active.

 

The controls apply to high-compute AI chips such as NVIDIA’s Blackwell B200 and AMD’s MI350X.

 

The guidance arrives against a complicated policy backdrop. In December 2025, President Trump cleared the way for NVIDIA to export H200 chips to approved customers in China, reversing years of tightening restrictions. Some Chinese companies were interested, including ByteDance and Alibaba. The Chinese government did not approve purchases, despite demand from Chinese firms. The May 31 guidance makes it clear that, even with the market opening, Chinese-owned companies cannot route chip purchases through foreign subsidiaries to sidestep the licensing requirement.

Glowing blue AI chip on a dark circuit board with two small human figures in a spotlight below, representing AI chip export controls enforcement.

Senate Passes Bill to Pay Whistleblowers Who Report Illegal AI Chip Exports

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The Stop Stealing our Chips Act offers 10–30% of collected fines to informants who provide original information that leads to an enforcement action, and protects them from retaliation.

 

The Senate passed the Stop Stealing Our Chips Act on May 20. The bill amends the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 to establish a whistleblower incentive program targeting violations of U.S. AI chip export controls, with a stated focus of limiting access to leading-edge AI chips by adversarial nations. It now heads to the House.

 

How the rewards work

The Commerce Department must establish a secure online portal within 120 days of enactment. 

Once a claim is made, initial credibility reviews must be completed within 60 days of submission. Commerce must provide updates to the informant every 90 days after that. Anonymous submissions are allowed, although identity disclosure is required to collect an award.

Awards are funded through the Export Compliance Accountability Fund, a new Treasury account stocked by fines collected from whistleblower-initiated actions.

Whistleblowers who provide information leading to a fine can earn 10–30% of the amount collected. 

 

Retaliation protections

Employers may not retaliate against employees for reporting violations. Those who face retaliation can sue in federal court and, if they prevail, are entitled to reinstatement, two times back pay with interest, and attorney fees.

Protections do not apply to employees who consciously report false information. Employees in compliance roles may face additional eligibility restrictions, with some exceptions for obstruction or imminent financial harm.

 

The House has not introduced a companion bill as yet. 

This is not the first amendment to the Export Control Reform Act designed to curb foreign access to AI technology. The House recently passed H.R. 2683, the Remote Access Security Act, a bill designed to prevent foreign adversaries, particularly Chinese entities, from accessing American AI chips and advanced compute capabilities through cloud and remote network connections.