Trump Says US will Allow Sale of Nvidia AI Chips to China

The announcement marked a significant shift in U.S. export policy for advanced artificial intelligence chips, which the Joe Biden administration has heavily restricted due to national security concerns about China’s military practices.

Democrats in Congress quickly rejected this change, calling it a major mistake that would benefit China’s military and economy.

In a post on the Truth Social platform, Trump said he had informed Xi that Washington would allow Nvidia to ship H200 products to “approved customers in China and other countries under conditions that allow for continued strong National Security.”

“President Xi responded positively! 25% dollars will be paid to the United States,” Trump wrote, without giving details on how the payment mechanism would work.

Trump criticized his predecessor’s approach, saying it “forces our Big Companies to spend BILLIONS of DOLLARS building ‘broken’ products that no one wants, a terrible idea that slows Innovation and hurts the American Worker.”

This was in reference to the Biden administration’s demand that chip companies create modified, less powerful versions specifically for the Chinese market.

These chips had reduced capabilities (e.g. lower processing speeds) to comply with export control regulations.

Under Biden-era restrictions, exports of the H200 and similar advanced chips to China have been blocked.

“We applaud President Trump’s decision to allow America’s chip industry to compete to support high-paying jobs and manufacturing in America,” an Nvidia spokesman told AFP.

“Offering H200, which has been reviewed by the Department of Commerce, to approved commercial customers is a great balance for America.”

– Not Blackwell –

The President said his decision aims to “support American Jobs, strengthen U.S. Manufacturing, and benefit American Taxpayers.”

Trump emphasized that Nvidia’s most advanced chips (the Blackwell series and the upcoming Rubin processors) are not included in the deal and will only be available to US customers.

The H200s are about 18 months behind the company’s cutting-edge offerings.

The chips (graphics processing units, or GPUs) are used to train AI models, which form the basis of the generative AI revolution launched with the launch of ChatGPT in 2022.

While the Commerce Department was finalizing implementation details, Trump said the “same approach will apply to AMD, Intel and other GREAT American Companies.”

The announcement comes amid trade tensions between Washington and Beijing as the two compete for dominance in artificial intelligence technology.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has lobbied hard at the White House to reverse the Biden-era policy, despite significant opposition in Washington to Chinese companies gaining access to powerful chips.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, attributed the deal to a “backroom meeting” with a donation from Trump and Huang’s company to build the East Wing ballroom at the White House.

He said this would “activate China’s military and undermine America’s technological leadership.”

He and other top Senate Democrats issued a separate statement saying Trump’s decision was “a monumental economic and national security failure.”

“Access to these chips will enable China’s military transformation technology to make its weapons more lethal, launch more effective cyberattacks against American businesses and critical infrastructure, and strengthen its economic and manufacturing sectors,” these lawmakers said.

Alex Stapp of the Washington-based Institute for Progress called the policy “a major own goal”, with the H200 being “6 times more powerful than the H20, the most powerful chip previously approved for export”.