Trump’s AI Chip Export Push Stymied by Bureaucratic Bottleneck

April 10, 2026, 4:51 PM UTC

President Donald Trump’s goal of significantly boosting global sales of American AI chips risks being undermined by licensing bottlenecks, staffing attrition and a lack of policy direction at the federal agency that oversees exports of billions of dollars in sensitive US technology.

Within the past year, a small but powerful office nestled within the Commerce Department — the Bureau of Industry and Security — has taken on a growing pile of bureaucratic tasks central to Trump’s economic agenda. Those include vetting Nvidia Corp.’s bid to export its coveted processors to the Middle East and China and leading a ...

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