The Trump administration is weighing penalties that prevent China’s deepshake from purchasing U.S. technology and is discussing banning Americans from accessing services, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
The launch of DeepSeek, a low-cost AI model in China, is rattling the AI ecosystem. The US government has since taken steps to crack down on support from Chinese startups and chipmaker Nvidia.
Nvidia’s AI chips have been a key focus of US export controls as US officials aim to prevent the most sophisticated chips from being sold to China in order to maintain their lead in AI races.
This week’s Trump administration moved to restrict the sale of Nvidia’s AI chips to China.
China’s US Selection Committee said in the report “We have sent a formal letter to NVIDIA requesting a response regarding sales to China and Southeast Asia to find out whether and how the chips are powering Deepseek’s AI model despite US export restrictions,” the report said.
Nvidia warned on Tuesday with a $5.5 billion hit after Washington restricted exports of H20 AI chips to China. The move to restrict H20 shipments is Trump’s latest effort to restrict access to China’s advanced semiconductors.
The US has banned Nvidia’s most sophisticated chip exports to China since 2022, and is concerned that China can use advanced technology to boost its military capabilities.
Deepseek, the White House and the Commerce Department did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
