Trump’s US government shake-up hits agency enforcing export controls aimed at China

The indiscriminate shake-up of the US government under President Donald Trump has made headlines for affecting everything from nuclear weapons safety to programmes that fight diseases worldwide.

Lost in the headlines about these ruptures is a small corner of the federal bureaucracy that might seem inconsequential by comparison.

Yet the work of the US Department of Commerce agency responsible for enforcing export control regulations – the Bureau of Industry and Security – carries implications for America’s global trade in what is arguably the country’s most important products, including Nvidia’s A800 and H800 and Intel’s HL-328 and HL-388 AI chips for China.

And amid reverberations in the global hi-tech sector following AI breakthroughs by Chinese start-up DeepSeek and talk of a possible major deal with Beijing, the BIS is undergoing significant personnel and policy changes under the Trump administration.

Earlier this month, the BIS unexpectedly paused processing applications for export licenses filed after February 5, without official notification or guidance, according to people familiar with the matter.

The hold appeared last week to have ended, as some applicants began receiving licenses amid backlogs.