Trump opens door to sales of version of Nvidia's next-gen AI chips in China
Trump also confirmed and defended an agreement calling for U.S. AI chip giant Nvidia, led by Jensen Huang, and Advanced Micro Devices to give the U.S. government 15 per cent of revenue from sales of some advanced computer chips in China, after his administration greenlit exports to China of less advanced AI chips known as the H20 last month.
'Jensen also has the new chip, the Blackwell. A somewhat enhanced-in-a-negative-way Blackwell. In other words, take 30- to 50-per-cent off of it,' Trump told reporters in an apparent reference to slashing the chip's capability.
'I think he's coming to see me again about that, but that will be an unenhanced version of the big one,' he added.
Trump's administration halted sales of Nvidia's H20 chips to China in April, but the company said last month it had won clearance to resume shipments and hoped to start deliveries soon.
Nvidia and AMD to pay U.S. 15% of China chip sale revenues, official says
'The H20 is obsolete,' Trump said, saying China already had it. 'So I said, 'Listen, I want 20 per cent if I'm going to approve this for you, for the country',' he added.
The deal is extremely rare for the U.S. and marks Trump's latest intervention in corporate decision-making, after pressuring executives to invest in American manufacturing and demanding new Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan resign over ties to Chinese companies.
Analysts said the levy may hit margins at the chipmakers and set a precedent for Washington to tax critical U.S. exports, potentially extending beyond semiconductors.
The U.S. Commerce Department has started issuing licences for the sale of H20 chips to China, another U.S. official said on Friday. Both the U.S. officials declined to be named because details have not been made public.
The China curbs are expected to cost Nvidia and AMD billions of dollars in revenue, and successive U.S. administrations have sought in recent years to limit Beijing's access to cutting-edge chips that could bolster China's military.
Washington does not feel the sale of H20 and equivalent chips compromises national security, said the first U.S. official. The official did not know when or how the agreement with the chip companies would be implemented, but said the administration would be in compliance with the law. The U.S. Constitution prohibits Congress from laying taxes and duties on articles exported from any state. The Export Clause applies to taxes and duties, not user fees.
Trump says U.S. will levy 100% tariff on imported chips, but some firms exempt
When asked if Nvidia had agreed to pay 15 per cent of revenues to the U.S., a company spokesperson said: 'We follow rules the U.S. government sets for our participation in worldwide markets.'
'While we haven't shipped H20 to China for months, we hope export control rules will let America compete in China and worldwide,' the spokesperson added.
A spokesperson for AMD said the U.S. approved its applications to export some AI processors to China, but did not directly address the revenue-sharing agreement and said the company's business adheres to all U.S. export controls.
The Commerce Department did not immediately comment.
China's foreign ministry said the country has repeatedly stated its position on U.S. chip exports. The ministry has previously accused Washington of using technology and trade measures to 'maliciously contain and suppress China.'
The Financial Times, which first reported the development, said the chip firms agreed to the arrangement as a condition for obtaining the export licenses for their semiconductors, including AMD's MI308 chips. It added that the Trump administration had yet to determine how to use the money.
'The Chinese market is significant for both these companies so even if they have to give up a bit of the money, they would otherwise make it look like a logical move on paper,' AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said.
Still, analysts and experts questioned the logic of resuming sales if the chips could pose a national security risk. 'Decisions on export licences should be determined by national security considerations and the tradeoffs of U.S. policy goals, not a revenue-creating possibility,' said Martin Chorzempa, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, an independent research institution.
'What it ends up creating is an incentive to control things, to then extract a payment, rather than controlling things because we're actually concerned about the risk to national security.'
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said last month the planned resumption of sales of the AI chips was part of U.S. negotiations with China to get rare earths and described the H20 as Nvidia's 'fourth-best chip' in an interview with CNBC.
He said it was in U.S. interests for Chinese firms to use American technology, even if the most advanced chips remained barred, to keep them on a U.S. 'tech stack.' Some elements of Trump's trade policy are already facing legal scrutiny, with a federal appeals panel skeptical of his claim that a 1977 law, traditionally used to sanction enemies or freeze assets, also empowered him to impose tariffs. 'We aren't sure we like the precedent this sets,' Bernstein analysts said of the revenue-share deal. 'Will it stop with Chinese AI? Will it stop with controlled products? Will other companies be required to pay to sell into the region?'
'It feels like a slippery slope to us.' The analysts estimated the deal would cut gross margins on the China-bound processors by 5 to 15 percentage points, shaving about a point from Nvidia and AMD's overall margins.
Nvidia generated US$17-billion in revenue from China in the fiscal year ending January 26, representing 13 per cent of total sales. AMD reported US$6.2-billion in China revenue for 2024, accounting for 24 per cent of total revenue.
Nvidia has warned a China sales halt for H20 chips could cut US$8-billion from July quarter revenue, while AMD has projected a US$1.5-billion annual hit from the curbs.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
11 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
US grand jury indicts one of Haiti's most powerful gang leaders and one of his friends
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A federal grand jury has indicted one of Haiti's most powerful gang leaders and a U.S. citizen accused of conspiring with him to violate U.S. sanctions and fund gang activities in the troubled Caribbean country, the U.S. Justice Department announced Tuesday. Jimmy Chérizier, best known as 'Barbecue,' is a leader of a gang federation called Viv Ansanm that the U.S. designated as a foreign terrorist organization in May. Chérizier lives in Haiti, and the U.S. is offering up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction. Chris Landberg, a senior U.S. State Department official, said Chérizier's 'reign of terror and mass violence against Haiti must end.' But Jake Johnston, author of 'Aid State' and international research director at the Washington-based Center for Economic and Policy Research, questioned the government's reason for offering a bounty. 'This is a guy who is giving international media interviews regularly. I don't think the issue is being able to find him,' Johnston said, adding that the indictment doesn't represent a threat to Chérizier since he lives in Haiti. 'It's hard to see how it'll have much of an effect.' A policeman turned gang leader Chérizier is a former elite police officer who was fired in December 2018 and was later accused of organizing large-scale massacres in the slums of Grand Ravine in 2017, in La Saline in 2018 and in Bel-Air in 2019. More than 100 people were killed in the massacres, which Chérizier has denied organizing. 'Haiti is a hotspot right now … there is incredible violence going on there,' U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Tuesday, calling La Saline killings 'notorious because (Chérizier) both planned and participated' in the slaughter. In June 2020, Chérizier created the ' G9 Family and Allies,' an alliance that grew from nine gangs in lower Delmas and the Cite Soleil and La Saline slums to include more than a dozen gangs, according to a U.N. Security Council report. The alliance was blamed for the killings of some 145 people in Cite Soleil and the rape of multiple women. In December 2020, the U.S. Treasury Department issued civil sanctions against Chérizier and others accused of being involved in the massacres. The G-9 alliance later became part of the Viv Ansanm gang federation created in September 2023 that saw the merging of Haiti's two biggest gangs that were once bitter enemies: G-9 and G- Pèp. Since then, the federation has taken control of 90% of Port-au-Prince. It launched multiple attacks on key government infrastructure in February 2024 and raided Haiti's two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates. It also forced Haiti's main international airport to close for nearly three months. The surge in violence led to the resignation of former Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who was locked out of his country while on an official visit to Kenya. The gang federation continues to attack once peaceful communities in Port-au-Prince, and it is accused of helping gangs in Haiti's central region. 'We want to change everything' Also indicted is Bazile Richardson, whom officials say is a naturalized U.S. citizen from Haiti who grew up with Chérizier and lives in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Both are accused of leading a 'wide-ranging conspiracy' by directly soliciting money transfers from members of the Haitian diaspora to raise funds for Chérizier's gang activities in Haiti, according to the indictment. It stated that the money was used to pay the salaries of gang members and buy weapons from illegal dealers in Haiti. Most of the firearms are smuggled in from the U.S. since Haiti does not produce weapons. According to the indictment, there are two other unnamed co-conspirators from Haiti who live in New York and Massachusetts, and five others who live in Haiti. Chérizier could not be immediately reached for comment. It was not immediately clear if Richardson had an attorney. The indictment noted that Chérizier and Richardson have acknowledged the sanctions against Chérizier, adding that the alleged conspiracy began around December 2020 and continued through January of this year. One voice memo that an unidentified co-conspirator in Haiti allegedly sent to Richardson stated: 'If I have backup, we will take the power, and you will be able to come back to your country. You will need to serve in the new government.' Richardson forwarded the alleged memo to Chérizier in June 2022, nearly a year after former President Jovenel Moïse was killed at his private residence. Another person identified only as a Haitian co-conspirator allegedly sent a voice memo to Richardson saying, 'we want to start a revolution in Haiti and are trying to collect funds.' Part of the plan was to have 1,000 individuals give $20 each or 1 million Haitians abroad give $1 each, as well as collect money from 1,000 people for each of Haiti's 10 regions, according to the indictment. 'With this money, they can buy pick-up trucks, weapons, ammunition, clothing to include T-shirts, boots and hats. We want to change everything in Haiti,' according to one alleged voice memo. In June 2021, Chérizier held a press conference announcing the start of a revolution. A crackdown on violence The indictment comes as gang violence continues to surge in Haiti's capital and beyond, with gunmen kidnapping an Irish missionary and seven other people, including a 3-year-old, from an orphanage earlier this month. The office of Haiti's prime minister did not immediately return a message seeking comment on the indictment. Johnston said the broader strategy in the fight against gangs remains unclear. 'It does seem like there's sort of an escalatory framework happening both in Haiti and the U.S.,' he said. 'Where does that actually go?' Darren Cox, acting assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division, said the bureau's Miami office is leading the effort to apprehend Chérizier. 'The FBI is focused more than ever on crushing violent crime,' Cox said. 'There is no safe haven for them, or the people like them.' ___ Khalil reported from Washington, D.C.
Winnipeg Free Press
11 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
US national debt reaches a record $37 trillion, the Treasury Department reports
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government's gross national debt has surpassed $37 trillion, a record number that highlights the accelerating debt on America's balance sheet and increased cost pressures on taxpayers. The $37 trillion update is found in the latest Treasury Department report issued Tuesday which logs the nation's daily finances. The national debt eclipsed $37 trillion years sooner than pre-pandemic projections. The Congressional Budget Office's January 2020 projections had gross federal debt eclipsing $37 trillion after fiscal year 2030. But the debt grew faster than expected because of a multi-year COVID-19 pandemic starting in 2020 that shut down much of the U.S. economy, where the federal government borrowed heavily under then-President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden to stabilize the national economy and support a recovery. And now, more government spending has been approved after Trump signed into law Republicans' tax cut and spending legislation earlier this year. The law set to add $4.1 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, according to Congressional Budget Office estimates. Chair and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, Michael Peterson said in a statement that government borrowing puts upward pressure on interest rates, 'adding costs for everyone and reducing private sector investment. Within the federal budget, the debt crowds out important priorities and creates a damaging cycle of more borrowing, more interest costs, and even more borrowing.' Wendy Edelberg, a senior fellow in Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution said Congress has a major role in setting in motion spending and revenue policy and the result of the Republicans' tax law 'means that we're going to borrow a lot over the course of 2026, we're going to borrow a lot over the course of 2027, and it's just going to keep going.' The Government Accountability Office outlines some of the impacts of rising government debt on Americans — including higher borrowing costs for things like mortgages and cars, lower wages from businesses having less money available to invest, and more expensive goods and services. Peterson points out how the trillion-dollar milestones are 'piling up at a rapid rate.' The U.S. hit $34 trillion in debt in January 2024, $35 trillion in July 2024 and $36 trillion in November 2024. 'We are now adding a trillion more to the national debt every 5 months,' Peterson said. 'That's more than twice as fast as the average rate over the last 25 years.' The Joint Economic Committee estimates at the current average daily rate of growth an increase of another trillion dollars to the debt would be reached in approximately 173 days. Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said in a statement that 'hopefully this milestone is enough to wake up policymakers to the reality that we need to do something, and we need to do it quickly.'
National Post
11 minutes ago
- National Post
KnowBe4 Unveils Brand Refresh to Celebrate 15 Years of Delivering Human Risk Management
Article content New modern brand showcases KnowBe4's commitment to helping organizations 'Rise Above Risk' for the future of human risk management Article content TAMPA BAY, Fla. — KnowBe4, the world-renowned cybersecurity platform that comprehensively addresses human risk management (HRM), today unveiled a bold new brand with an innovative new vision for the future of the company. The refreshed identity reflects KnowBe4's leadership in human risk management, with a reputation for excellence in cybersecurity and groundbreaking AI advancements. Article content Armed with a new company tagline 'Rise Above Risk', KnowBe4 is boldly pushing the boundaries of its brand identity to new heights to reflect a focus on human risk management while helping IT and cybersecurity professionals elevate their protection efforts regarding company risk. It goes beyond phishing, training and boundaries to transform the unpredictable into the unstoppable to rise above risk. Article content 'As we launch our new, modern brand identity and celebrate the company's anniversary, we reflect on the achievements and successes of KnowBe4 over the last 15 years,' said Cindy Zhou, chief marketing officer, KnowBe4. 'From the spark of a great idea to becoming a billion-dollar valuation unicorn, and serving 70,000 customers globally, KnowBe4's transformation has been revolutionary and the future is bright. Our brand refresh represents what sets us apart as the market leader in human risk management and the impact we continue to have on our customers to keep their organizations secure.' Article content KnowBe4's evolution reaffirms its leadership position in the human risk management space and bolsters its dedication to helping IT and cybersecurity workers to fight against today's top threats, including social engineering, email threats, ransomware and more. Article content About KnowBe4 Article content KnowBe4 empowers workforces to make smarter security decisions every day. Trusted by over 70,000 organizations worldwide, KnowBe4 helps to strengthen security culture and manage human risk. KnowBe4 offers a comprehensive AI-driven 'best-of-suite' platform for Human Risk Management, creating an adaptive defense layer that fortifies user behavior against the latest cybersecurity threats. The HRM+ platform includes modules for awareness & compliance training, cloud email security, real-time coaching, crowdsourced anti-phishing, AI Defense Agents, and more. As the only global security platform of its kind, KnowBe4 utilizes personalized and relevant cybersecurity protection content, tools and techniques to mobilize workforces to transform from the largest attack surface to an organization's biggest asset. More info at Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content Contacts Article content Article content Article content
