Nick Wake: Why export controls on advanced AI chips matter to us
In the race to develop and deploy artificial intelligence, the United States holds an important lead. That lead depends not just on our talent and innovation ecosystem, but on policymakers’ willingness to keep up with this generational technology.
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In the race to develop and deploy artificial intelligence, the United States holds an important lead. That lead depends not just on our talent and innovation ecosystem, but on policymakers’ willingness to keep up with this generational technology — especially when it comes to export controls.
That’s why Michigan’s own Rep. John Moolenaar is a powerful voice on this topic. As chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Moolenaar has brought attention to the problematic and shortsighted Trump administration decision to export high-performance chips to the CCP.
Rep. Bill Huizenga has also pushed to tighten AI chip export loopholes, including by advancing the bipartisan Chip Security Act alongside Rep. Moolenaar to stop the smuggling of advanced U.S. AI chips into China. Huizenga and Moolenaar have also backed stronger controls on the chipmaking tools that enable advanced AI processors.
In today’s AI landscape, computing power is the most valuable and limiting resource — America’s strategic advantage. Chips like Nvidia’s H200 are essential to training and operating the most powerful large language models. Shipping that capacity to the CCP, which has made clear it intends to dominate AI militarily and economically, is a big mistake.
Moolenaar’s objections to these exports are well-founded. He and members of his committee have requested answers from the Department of Commerce about how these decisions were made and whether they’re consistent with long-term U.S. national security interests. This type of oversight is essential, particularly as some U.S. companies appear to be putting profits over protecting our national security.
The risks of technology leakage, reverse engineering, or a foreign military force misusing U.S.-made technology are real and need to be considered in the context of powerful AI technology. These risks are magnified when the technology in question has clear dual-use and military applications.
Beyond oversight, Moolenaar has also taken steps toward a proactive AI policy that protects Americans. In 2025, he co-introduced the bipartisan GAIN AI Act with Illinois Democrat Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi. This legislation would restrict sales of advanced AI chips to companies from arms-embargoed countries if there is unmet demand from American companies for those same chips.
Other Congressional proposals take into account similar national security considerations, including the bipartisan AI Overwatch Act, which ensures congressional oversight keeps pace with advancing technology, blocks adversary militaries from accessing weapon-enabling AI, and anchors allies and partners to American AI systems.
These are sensible, bipartisan measures. They’re also timely. While U.S. companies currently have a commanding lead in computing power and access, analysts at RAND Corporation and other research institutions have warned that the CCP is rapidly scaling its domestic chip production and seeking backdoors around U.S. export controls. Selling them cutting-edge American AI chips would speed up that process.
Some argue that restricting exports hurts U.S. chipmakers and slows innovation. While it’s true that exporting our top-tier chips today will increase profit margins for select big companies, it also damages U.S. competitiveness and gives away a strategic resource. Rep. Moolenaar has rightly argued that this is not about banning exports, but that we should be clear-eyed about where the line is drawn, and what we risk when we cross it.
This conversation is especially relevant to Michigan. AI stands to transform sectors central to our state’s economy, including manufacturing and automotive. Keeping that innovation pipeline secure — making sure U.S. firms aren’t undercut by state-backed CCP companies using American-designed and manufactured chips — is in the interest of Michiganders.
Congress has a critical role to play here and a number of tools at its disposal, including committee hearings, export control reviews, and procurement reform — tools that Moolenaar is using to ask the right questions. Huizenga’s work alongside Moolenaar shows Michigan’s delegation can reinforce tighter enforcement, close loopholes, and keep America’s most advanced AI capabilities out of the CCP’s hands.
The next step is for Congress to work with the Trump administration on a strategy that promotes U.S. innovation and computing power without outsourcing our advantages.
— Nick Wake is the co-owner and director of business development for Care Patrol of West Michigan. He is a former trustee of Barry County's Thornapple Township.
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