AI OVERWATCH Act

Key Points

• The bill requires a license for exporting advanced AI chips to countries like China, Russia, Iran, Cuba, and North Korea. It targets chips used in data centers, particularly high-performance GPUs, and blocks general licenses so every sale must be individually reviewed.
• The most powerful chips, called "restricted integrated circuits," are completely banned from export to countries of concern. No license can be granted for these top-tier chips, period.
• All existing licenses to sell covered chips to these countries are immediately canceled when the bill becomes law, and new licenses are temporarily frozen until a national AI strategy is submitted to Congress.
• Before any new export license can be approved, the Commerce Department must certify to Congress that the sale won't help a foreign country's military or intelligence capabilities, won't hurt U.S. technology leadership, and won't harm the U.S. defense industrial base.
• The bill creates a "trusted United States person" program that lets vetted U.S. companies export chips to allied countries more easily, with requirements like security standards, ownership limits, and annual audits. It also encourages sourcing chips from U.S. manufacturing facilities.
• The bill mandates a national "American Artificial Intelligence Victory Strategy" that lays out a whole-of-government plan to win the AI race against China, including assessments of China's chip production capabilities and recommendations for policy changes.