US lawmakers target Chinese AI startups and mislabeled solar wafers

Washington is weighing new restrictions on Chinese artificial‑intelligence startups after officials accused them of illicitly distilling U.S. models and accessing restricted Nvidia chips. About 200 startups have pushed back, while firms such as Anthropic and OpenAI lobby for tighter security reviews.

Bipartisan members of Congress have written to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner and the IRS chief, alleging that Chinese solar manufacturers mislabel partially finished “blue wafers” so the products can qualify for U.S. manufacturing tax credits and avoid anti‑dumping duties. The letter warns that the loophole could divert billions of federal incentives meant for domestic clean‑energy production and give overseas producers an unfair pricing advantage.