Senate Democrats urge Trump to end China's access to advanced chips
Chris Coons, Patty Murray, Jack Reed and Jeanne Shaheen say China is exploiting gaps in existing export controls
Published
A group of Senate Democrats has written to President Trump calling on him to close China's access to advanced US chips and the equipment used to make them. The letter argues that China is exploiting weaknesses in the administration's current export controls, according to The Hill.
The letter was signed by Senators Chris Coons, Patty Murray, Jack Reed and Jeanne Shaheen. They tell Trump he must reverse course and cut off Chinese access to the technology.
The push follows a separate warning from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who told Trump that loosening controls on advanced AI chip sales to China would be counterproductive, according to Punchbowl News.
The letter lands as Trump pursues diplomatic openings with Iran and Ukraine, and it pushes in the opposite direction on China. Tighter export controls would reinforce the broader split between the US and Chinese tech sectors and would work against any near-term trade deal with Beijing, a risk for equities tied to US-China trade normalization or to Chinese tech development. Semiconductor and defense contractors could gain if controls tighten, but the broader effect points toward deeper geopolitical fragmentation.