Trump Negotiates 15% Cut from Nvidia for Exporting AI Chips to China; AMD Also to Pay Similar Fee

In a press conference on Monday, President Trump disclosed that he initially sought a 20% share of Nvidia’s sales revenue in China, which was eventually negotiated down to 15%. The reduction came after discussions between Trump and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at the White House.

The revelation followed reports over the weekend that Nvidia had agreed to remit a 15% cut to the federal government in exchange for export control licenses, enabling them to resume selling the H20 chip to China and Chinese companies. The deal was facilitated by Huang’s visit to the White House on Friday.

During the press conference, Trump stated that the H20 is an outdated chip already in China’s possession, with little strategic value compared to Nvidia’s current top-tier artificial intelligence chip, known as Blackwell. He emphasized his reluctance to authorize sales of the Blackwell chips to China without significant performance downgrades.

“The Blackwell is super-duper advanced. I wouldn’t make a deal with that,” Trump said, hinting at potential compromises for a “somewhat diminished” version of the chip. He added that the latest iteration of Blackwell is unmatched globally and would not be accessible to China for at least five years.

The U.S.’s export controls on advanced chips are intended to prevent China from gaining an edge in artificial intelligence capabilities, potentially posing a threat to U.S. national security. Trump acknowledged that China already possesses chips with comparable capabilities to the H20.

Huang has advocated for the benefits of allowing Chinese AI developers access to U.S. technology, arguing that denial would fuel the development and growth of China’s domestic chip industry.

“He’s selling an essentially old chip,” Trump said, referring to the H20, which is a China-specific version designed to function at reduced performance levels compared to Nvidia’s H100 and H200 chips used domestically. The H20 was developed after the Biden administration implemented export controls on AI chips in 2023.

In April, the Trump administration announced that a license would be required for exporting the H20 chip, effectively closing the market off to Nvidia, according to Huang. Prior to sales being halted, Nvidia had anticipated selling approximately $8 billion worth of H20 chips in the July quarter.

In a statement to CNBC on Monday, an Nvidia spokesperson expressed hope that revised export control rules would allow them to compete in both domestic and international markets. Trump also revealed that Huang is planning a return visit to negotiate export licenses for the Blackwell chips.

According to a White House official, second-place AI chip maker AMD has also agreed to pay a 15% fee to secure an export license for its China-focused AI chip, the Instinct MI308.