The White House Risks Squandering Its Own AI Leadership

The White House is reportedly lobbying against the GAIN AI Act, a policy reversal that appears to contradict its stated goal of using technological advantage as an instrument of statecraft. The act aims to deny advanced U.S. chip sales to China by giving American companies a right of first refusal, ensuring domestic needs are met before selling to a strategic competitor. A widely overlooked provision of the bill would also streamline AI chip exports to allies by creating a "trusted United States person" category, exempting qualified U.S. companies from certain licensing requirements for their overseas data centers. The administration's opposition may be driven by a desire to protect the short-term revenues of chip designers who profit from high-margin sales to China, creating a conflict between commercial interests and broader national security objectives.