Cybersecurity Policy Report, Senators Urge Trump to Reverse Suspension of BIS Export Rule, (Nov 14, 2025)

By Lynn Stanton

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) and Sens. Ron Wyden (D., Ore.), Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D., Nev.) Andy Kim (D., N.J.) Jeff Merkley (D., Ore.) Chris Van Hollen (D., Md.), and Ben Ray Luján (D., N.M.) today urged President Trump to reinstate Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) export controls on AI (artificial intelligence) chips, surveillance systems, and other critical technology that he pledged to suspend for one year in recent trade negotiations with China.

“Prior Presidents have refused to negotiate away national security controls. You, in contrast, have turned export controls into a chip to bargain away. The suspension of these controls undermines U.S. national security and will make it far more difficult to stem the illicit diversion of American-made semiconductors and other advanced technology to Chinese state-affiliated entities. In return, you have received very little: a temporary truce in your disastrous trade war that leaves Americans worse off than when you took office and preserves a status quo in which China is undercutting U.S. national and economic security. We urge you to reinstate these controls and end your giveaway of key national security tools,” they urged.

“On September 29, 2025, BIS announced a new rule closing a critical loophole in U.S. export control policy that has undercut enforcement for years. Before BIS released this ‘affiliates rule’ this year, foreign companies that are otherwise restricted from receiving many U.S.-derived exports on account of American national security interests could establish subsidiaries or cutouts to evade export controls and obtain advanced U.S. technologies including artificial intelligence (AI) chips and surveillance technology. Blocked firms use complex networks of shell companies, subsidiaries, and affiliates that were not included on the Entity List to acquire these items. The affiliates rule closes this loophole by automatically subjecting any entity that is at least 50% owned by an individual or company that is already included on the Entity List to the same strict license requirements as the parent company,” the senators said.

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