WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey is helping lead new bipartisan legislation aimed at strengthening national security by restricting the sale of the most advanced U.S. artificial intelligence chips to China and other countries of concern.
Gottheimer, a Democrat who serves as co-chair of the House Commission on AI and the Innovation Economy, helped introduce the Restoring Export and Security Trade Restrictions for Integrated Circuit Technologies Act of 2025, known as the RESTRICT Act.
The legislation would prohibit the export of advanced U.S.-made AI chips, including the H200, to China and other arms-embargoed nations. At the same time, it seeks to bolster U.S. competitiveness by creating a secure, license-free export pathway for trusted American companies that operate data centers abroad in countries not considered a security risk.
“China is working to corner the global market for semiconductor manufacturing, which poses a serious threat to U.S. economic and national security,” Gottheimer said. “We’ve already seen China use AI maliciously, hacking into U.S. companies and causing mayhem, so it doesn’t make sense to give them our best tools to keep doing that. The U.S. must stay ahead of the curve and prevent our adversaries’ access to the most advanced computing chips.”
The bill would direct the undersecretary of commerce for industry and security to deny export license applications for advanced integrated circuits to countries of concern. It would also codify existing federal restrictions on the export of advanced U.S. chips to China, rather than imposing new controls.
Under the legislation, “countries of concern” are defined as nations under a U.S. arms embargo as of Jan. 1, 2025. The bill allows export control definitions to be revised after two years, provided the undersecretary certifies to Congress that any changes would not harm national security.
The proposal also outlines requirements for U.S.-owned companies seeking license-free transfers of advanced chips to overseas facilities, including standards for physical security, cybersecurity and remote access controls. Only facilities located outside of countries of concern would qualify.
Gottheimer introduced the bill alongside Reps. Gregory Meeks of New York, Sydney Kamlager-Dove of California, Joaquin Castro of Texas, Dina Titus of Nevada, Greg Stanton of Arizona, Jim Costa of California, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida, Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania, Gabe Amo of Rhode Island, Jared Moskowitz of Florida, Johnny Olszewski of Maryland, Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois and Brad Sherman of California.
