WHASHINGTON – US chipmakers Nvidia and AMD have reportedly agreed to pay 15% of their sales revenues from China to the US government in exchange for export licenses to sell their high-performance chips in the Chinese market, the Financial Times reported Sunday. Under the deal, Nvidia’s H20 and AMD’s MI308 processors will be cleared for export to China, marking an unusual arrangement amid ongoing US-China tech tensions.
The agreement follows a months-long controversy over Nvidia’s H20 chip exports. In April, Washington barred Nvidia from selling the chip to China without an export license, citing national security concerns. The Trump administration reversed the decision last month, lifting licensing restrictions.
The move comes despite Chinese accusations that the H20 contains tracking, location, and remote shutdown capabilities — claims Nvidia has repeatedly denied. The company’s Chief Security Officer David Reber stated that its GPUs “do not and should not have kill switches and backdoors.”
Despite these assurances, Chinese state media on Sunday labeled the H20 “unsafe” and urged consumers to avoid AI processors designed for China, accusing the US of trying to insert “backdoors.” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang reportedly met with President Donald Trump last week, as the president threatened tariffs of up to 100% on semiconductor and chip exports from companies not manufacturing in the US. In a statement to the Financial Times, Nvidia said it complies with all US government regulations governing global markets.
