News of a backlog at the U.S. federal department comes less than a week after national security experts urged the Trump administration to reverse its decision that allows Nvidia to export H20 chips to China.

Nvidia earlier this month said the U.S. government is giving permission to sell its H20 microchip again in China — but now a Chinese regulator is raising a red flag.

As the top chip company, Nvidia's chips are in high demand from the largest companies, like Amazon and Microsoft, that are building out huge AI businesses. They themselves are serving other giants with AI tools and services in partnership with Nvidia, offering access to the chipmaker's powerful technology.