Weeks after Tampa indictments over AI chip smuggling, Trump authorizes exports of same chips

U.S. plans to sell advanced AI chips to China

FOX 13's Evan Axelbank asked the U.S. attorney about the policy change and what is means for the case against the suspects.

WASHINGTON D.C. - Just several weeks after the U.S. attorney in Tampa announced the indictments of two Chinese nationals who were smuggling computer chips to front groups that could have sold them to the Chinese military, the president announced that the same chips will be sold to certain Chinese companies.

Several weeks ago, Hon Ning Ho and Jing Chen of Tampa, were revealed to be using a front company in Tampa to smuggle the AI chips from the company Nvidia through secondary countries that were being co-opted by Chinese weapons makers.

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U.S. Attorney Greg Kehoe said that allowing China to access that technology would be a major risk, given their attempts to compete with the U.S. militarily.

Right now, experts say China does not have the ability to make the advanced chips that Nvidia makes, which is why controls on them are so stringent.

But the president announced on Truth Social that the U.S. will allow Nvidia to send those chips to China that allow for continued strong national security.

He says the U.S. will be paid 25% of the exports.

What they're saying:

In the wake of the president's announcement about the exports to China, the U.S. attorney said the key is where the chips wind up.

"The key to that particular sale was the disclosure. AI technology falls into multiple different categories," said US Attorney Greg Kehoe. "What is the license for? And if when you have a license, who is it going to? The case that we had here were pieces of AI equipment that were going into an AI technology to facilitate potential weapons development, then they were making those sales through Thailand and the Philippines. That's a much different situation."

The backstory:

The assumption is in the case of approved sales, the U.S. will know the goals of those who receive these chips in China.

The other hope is that by selling the chips legally, the U.S. is creating a dependence among the Chinese on U.S. chips.

Nvidia told the New York Times "We applaud President Trump’s decision to allow America’s chip industry to compete to support high-paying jobs and manufacturing in America."

What's next:

The cases against the suspects indicted in Tampa for conspiracy to violate trade law will go forward.

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