Key facts
- Wyden and Neal asked Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to preserve records on the Nvidia export approvals.
- The Democrats said chips made in Taiwan could be sold to Chinese firms after US import and a 25% Section 232 tariff.
- Neal and Wyden said the Commerce Department would then grant Nvidia an export license for the sales.
- The lawmakers cited reports that Commerce suspended a smuggling investigation into certain Nvidia chips after outreach from the company.
- Neal and Wyden said Nvidia and Huang donated at least $26 million to Trump's projects.
Top Democrats on the House and Senate trade committees said on November 13, 2026 that they are investigating the Trump administration's approval of Nvidia H200 chip sales to China and demanded that the Commerce Department retain all related records.
Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard E. Neal and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden sent the request to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. They asked the department to preserve records on its Section 232 investigation into semiconductor imports and any resulting tariffs, its handling of Nvidia's export license applications, and its communications with Nvidia, Jensen Huang or their representatives.
As the lawmakers described the arrangement, Nvidia chips manufactured in Taiwan could be sold to Chinese companies if first imported into the United States for a security review, which would require payment of a 25% tariff under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The Commerce Department would then grant Nvidia an export license for the sales.
Neal and Wyden wrote that the administration's "ostensible attempt to mask an unconstitutional export tax as a national security tariff action" raises concerns within their committees' jurisdiction over taxation and tariffs. They said Trump's use of the statute appears to have undermined US national security.
The Democrats cited press reports that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Donald Trump were briefed about former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's relationship with an alleged Chinese intelligence asset but granted approval to export advanced AI chips to China. They also cited reports that the Commerce Department suspended its investigation into suspected smuggling into China of certain Nvidia chips following outreach from the company, and said Nvidia and Huang donated at least $26 million to Trump's projects.