Trump exacts a price from Nvidia, AMD for AI chip sales to China
RINTARO TOBITA and KOSUKE SHIMIZU
August 13, 2025 01:53 JST
WASHINGTON/PALO ALTO, California -- U.S. President Donald Trump's deal with chipmakers to allow exports to China in exchange for a cut of revenue looks set to boost Washington's coffers, but the security concerns that prompted the original export restrictions still remain.
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Yomiuri Shimbun
16 minutes ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Europeans, Zelensky Cite Unity with Trump Ahead of Putin Summit in Alaska
BRUSSELS – European leaders on Wednesday implored President Donald Trump to keep one key point in mind when he meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska: The United States cannot – must not – negotiate away Ukrainian territory, especially for nothing in return. As Trump floats 'land swaps,' Kyiv's European backers have rejected a Russian proposal to trade Ukrainian land for an undefined truce. European leaders pressed their priorities in a call with Trump organized by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday. They spoke first with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who traveled to Berlin, and then Trump joined. The call was intended to shape Trump's thinking before the Alaska summit on Friday, with the anxious Europeans well aware that Trump in the past has seemed to fall under Putin's spell. European leaders emerged heralding the conversation as unifying. French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump was 'very clear' on Wednesday that he wants to obtain a ceasefire, and he said that Trump agreed that Ukraine should be involved in any talks on territory. Macron said Trump also assured the Europeans that he would later seek a trilateral summit with Putin and Zelensky. Trump confirmed on Wednesday that he hoped to arrange a three-way meeting after Alaska, and he praised the call with the Europeans and Zelensky. 'I would rate it a 10, you know, very, very friendly,' Trump said during a visit to the Kennedy Center. Trump also repeated his claim that the war would not have happened if he had been in office. 'This isn't my war,' he said. 'It is what it is, and I'm here to fix it.' But he strongly downplayed expectations that the meeting with Putin would yield an immediate breakthrough. 'There's a very good chance that we're going to have a second meeting, which will be more productive than the first, because the first is, I'm going to find out where we are and what we're doing,' Trump said. 'Certain great things can be gained in the first. It's going to be a very important meeting, but it's setting the table for the second meeting,' which he said would include Zelensky. Merz, at a post-call news conference with Zelensky, called the European meeting 'constructive' and said they were all 'very much in agreement.' He said European leaders insisted on their conditions for any negotiations with Putin, including that 'Ukraine must sit at the table' and that a ceasefire must be the starting point. 'There is hope for movement,' Merz said. Still, he was noncommittal when asked if Trump had agreed to conditions such as providing security guarantees for Ukraine. Zelensky told reporters in Berlin that there was a 'very positive, united mood.' He said he told Trump that Putin was trying to 'create the impression that Russia can occupy the whole of Ukraine' to gain the upper hand in negotiations. 'That is a bluff,' Zelensky said. The Europeans have insisted that Moscow agree to a ceasefire before negotiations over territory. If such negotiations occur, a European counteroffer has pushed the idea that any retreat of Ukrainian forces from Ukrainian-controlled territory should be matched on an inch-for-inch basis by Russia's withdrawal from occupied Ukrainian territory, according to three people briefed on the discussions. European and NATO allies have often failed to sway Trump's thinking, or even to be heard by the U.S. president ahead of big policy decisions, such as to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities. And they are frequently dismayed by Trump's policy moves, such as his unilateral imposition of tariffs. The Europeans recognize that they can only do so much to influence a president who often veers off-script and likes nothing more than to declare a deal. But on Ukraine they recently have met with some success, for example, by persuading Trump to allow them to transfer U.S. weapons to Ukraine and purchase replacements for themselves. In recent days, especially after a meeting with Vice President JD Vance in Britain, they have found the U.S. administration receptive to some of their red lines. After that weekend meeting, Vance, in a television interview, endorsed at least one European position – that the current line of contact in eastern Ukraine should be the starting point of any talks – rejecting a Russian demand that Ukraine surrender its entire eastern Donbas area. Some European officials have expressed guarded optimism, as the administration has lowered expectations for the summit in Alaska, that Trump would not simply give in to Putin or carve up Ukraine alone. There appears to be 'more of an understanding from the Americans that you can't just go for land swaps which would somehow give a prize to Russia,' said one European Union official, who like others in this article spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy. Still, the official added, 'it's clear that there are sort of discrepancies, and as we've seen it in the U.S. system by now, you have one man who will decide.' Even with Trump making an effort to consult allies, there has been confusion over whether Putin is even willing to swap territory, officials said. The administration understood that a partial Russian retreat might be possible after U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff returned from meeting with Putin in Moscow last week. However, the Russian offer apparently calls for a Ukrainian surrender of territory that Russian forces don't even control as a precondition for a ceasefire, the people briefed on the talks said. Wednesday's call with Trump caps a flurry of meetings and statements organized by the Europeans to rally around Kyiv since the Alaska summit was announced. In a post on Truth Social before the call, Trump described European leaders as 'great people who want to see a deal done.' The virtual summit hosted by Germany included the leaders of France, Britain, Italy, Poland, Finland, the E.U. and NATO. 'I have many fears and a lot of hope,' Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said earlier this week. Tusk said that recent comments indicate Trump was increasingly understanding of Ukrainian and European views on the war but that he was not so sure that would hold. Trump has repeatedly balked after threatening to pressure Russia into a ceasefire. As recently as last week, the president's mounting frustrations with Russia stalling on a ceasefire, and his threats of fresh U.S. sanctions, gave way to his invitation to Putin to meet on U.S. soil. European leaders, who won't be in Alaska, have little sway over the diplomatic spectacle, even as they have become Ukraine's chief military and financial backer. Most proposals for a truce also envision a role for European nations in enforcing any deal that could reshape the continent's future security. In the scramble to sway Trump, European officials have also stressed that any deal must give Ukraine a bulwark against future attacks. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has suggested a deal could involve acknowledging de facto Russian control of some of Ukraine's regions, without Kyiv officially ceding them. If Trump's meeting with Putin advances to 'full-scale negotiations,' Rutte said Sunday, territory would 'have to be on the table,' as would security guarantees for Ukraine. Rutte said talks should involve 'no limitations' on its military or on NATO's posture in Eastern Europe. Freezing the current front lines would leave about one-fifth of Ukraine's territory in Russian hands. Ukraine, meanwhile, has little leverage for a land swap, holding a small toehold in Russia's western Kursk region since a faltering offensive. 'Europeans can say what they want, but in the end, Ukraine and Russia will have to agree,' said a second European official. 'It's unlikely there's a peace deal now where Putin says, 'Okay, I'm going to withdraw from all of Ukraine.'' The chief diplomat for the 27-nation E.U., Kaja Kallas, told the bloc's foreign ministers last week that the initial contours of a deal between Washington and Moscow had seemed to 'focus on territory only' and that 'the Ukrainians are very worried,' according to a copy of a written note seen by The Washington Post. Kallas warned against a 'fragile ceasefire' that would solidify Russia's gains in more than three years of war. The E.U. official said they didn't see 'willingness' from Kyiv or many of its staunch European allies for trading territory within Ukraine, citing distrust with Russia, which is pressing its advances in the east. 'We have to understand the Ukrainian position. They have a million men who've been fighting for years now, so it's also something that President Zelensky wouldn't be able to have domestically accepted,' the official said. Though polls show war-weary Ukrainians increasingly favor a settlement to end the fighting, it would be tough to sell ceding territory – home to hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians and where forces built up defensive lines over years – for a ceasefire that can't be guaranteed. But even as Europe insists that Ukraine must receive security guarantees, its own ideas of what those guarantees would look like remain fuzzy. Ukraine's chief backers say guarantees should start with pledges of more weapons and training for its army and that they will reject any Russian demand to limit Ukraine's military. Kyiv's top aspiration – NATO membership – remains far-fetched, and a plan for European troops in Ukraine remains on a back burner. Carl Bildt, a former prime minister of Sweden, said European governments can shape the talks as Ukraine's chief suppliers of arms and cash. 'That blocks the possibility for Trump to make any concessions to Putin on what I think is among the most important of his demands,' to halt the flow of Western weapons to Ukraine, Bildt said. European leaders also still control billions in Russian frozen assets that will factor into negotiations, as well as the battery of sanctions that Russia wants lifted. Yet Camille Grand, a former NATO and French defense official, noted the limited European role, from the sidelines of the upcoming talks. 'The Europeans today provide the bulk of humanitarian, economic and military aid and have now accepted to pay for American weapons,' Grand told French public radio. 'While in the negotiations, they can at best hope to influence the American position or to support Ukraine.'
Yomiuri Shimbun
an hour ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Trump to Host Kennedy Center Honors, Which Will Go to Stallone, Gaynor, Kiss and More
President Donald Trump announced the recipients of the 48th Kennedy Center Honors on Wednesday – the first class of honorees since he took over the arts complex this year – and a major change to the ceremony: He'll be the host. Speaking from the center's Hall of Nations, Trump revealed the 2025 honorees by unveiling five portraits draped in velvet. The group: glam metal band Kiss, Broadway and West End star Michael Crawford, country music legend George Strait, actor Sylvester Stallone and singer Gloria Gaynor. Actor Tom Cruise was offered the honors but declined because of scheduling conflicts, according to several current and former Kennedy Center employees who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss event plans. A spokesperson for Cruise declined to comment. Before naming the honorees, Trump said he always wanted the award himself but 'was never able to get one.' 'I waited and waited and waited, and I said, 'The hell with it, I'll become chairman and I'll give myself an honor,'' he said, drawing chuckles from a crowd that included Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and members of the White House staff. '… Next year, we'll honor Trump, okay?' The choices may surprise some Trump critics. When Trump took over the Kennedy Center, an overworked joke circulated on social media. Here is political analyst Larry Sabato's version: 'Can you imagine forthcoming Kennedy Center Honors for Lee Greenwood, The Village People, and Kid Rock? Inevitable with Trump as Chair. Prepare your stomach.' It certainly seemed as if Trump had major plans in store for the honorees. At a board meeting in March, Trump said: 'We'll go slightly more conservative, if you don't mind, with some of the people. There are people out there that would not be considered that are much bigger stars than the ones that were being honored.' He even suggested offering honors to deceased icons and widening the scope of possible recipients to include athletes, business luminaries and politicians. Perhaps the most surprising thing about Trump's class of honorees is how comfortably it fits with those that came before it. A-list actor? Check. Aging rock band? Check. Broadway star? Check. (The Washington Post previously reported that the center was 'seriously' considering Strait, Crawford and Kiss.) Trump said he was 'very involved' in selecting the 2025 honorees and turned down names he didn't approve of. 'I would say I was about 98 percent involved. They all went through me,' he said. '… I had a couple of wokesters. Now, we have great people. This is very different than it used to be, very different.' Not all of the artists have supported Trump, including the face – that is, the tongue – of Kiss. Bassist Gene Simmons, whom Trump fired during the first season of 'The Celebrity Apprentice,' backed Trump during his first term – but soon changed his tune. 'Look what that gentleman did to this country and the polarization – got all the cockroaches to rise to the top,' Simmons told Spin of Trump in 2022. 'Once upon a time, you were embarrassed to be publicly racist and out there with conspiracy theories. Now it's all out in the open because he allowed it.' 'I don't think he's a Republican or a Democrat,' Simmons added of the president. 'He's out for himself, any way you can get there. And in the last election, over 70 million people bought it hook, line and sinker.' Simmons's bandmate Paul Stanley appears to have had a more favorable view of Trump. Days after the 2024 election, Stanley wrote on X: 'IT'S OVER. If your candidate lost, it's time to learn from it, accept it and try to understand why. There will be no building bridges to those you don't agree with by being condescending, insulting, talking AT them or removing yourself.' Gaynor, a Grammy Award-winning singer from New Jersey, rose to fame during the disco era of the 1970s. While she isn't known to be political, her hit song 'I Will Survive' has become an anthem for marginalized groups – particularly within the LGBTQ+ community – and was named to the Library of Congress National Recording Registry in 2015. If Trump's personal tastes align with any of the picks, it would be Crawford. Trump is famously a fan of 1980s Broadway hits, particularly 'The Phantom of the Opera,' the title role of which Crawford originated. Trump would often play songs from the musical at his rallies. Stallone, though, has emerged as a prominent Trump booster. In November, the Rocky actor gave a warmup speech for Trump at Mar-a-Lago, where Stallone described him as the 'second George Washington,' called him a 'mythical character' and compared him to Rocky Balboa. In January, as president-elect, Trump named Stallone – along with Mel Gibson and Jon Voight – as 'Special Ambassadors to a great but very troubled place, Hollywood, California,' and tasked them with 'bringing Hollywood, which has lost much business over the last four years to Foreign Countries, BACK-BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE!' Strait, meanwhile, is a country legend – a genre that soundtracks many red states – but he has long kept fairly mum on his political leanings. The ceremony will take place Dec. 7 and will later be broadcast on CBS. During the news conference, Trump spoke about an array of topics, including crime, his upcoming summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the landscape of D.C. 'We're going to make it so beautiful again,' he said of the city whose police he has placed under federal control. '… When you look at the parks where the grass is old, tired, exhausted. We're going to redo the grass with the finest grasses. I know a lot about grass because I own a lot of golf courses.' He also made unsubstantiated claims that, since becoming chairman of the Kennedy Center, 'we have completely reversed the decline of this cherished national institution.' 'We ended the woke political programming, and we're restoring the Kennedy Center as the premier venue for performing arts anywhere in the country,' Trump said. 'Anywhere in the world.' As of earlier this summer, subscriptions to the center's programming were down from last year, and several artists have boycotted the center. Trump said of the columns supporting the center, 'When you see them the next time, they'll be magnificent,' before praising the 'bones' of the building. Outside the center Wednesday, about a dozen demonstrators gathered with signs and bullhorns to protest Trump's involvement in the arts. Since returning to office in January, the president has targeted prominent arts and cultural institutions, including the Smithsonian, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress. There will be potential changes to the honors, according to the current and former employees. The center has contacted the jeweler Tiffany & Company about redesigning the medallions, which have traditionally depicted President John F. Kennedy on one side and the building on the other, with a rainbow-colored ribbon meant to represent different artistic skills and talents. The annual dinner at the State Department may be moved to the White House. The White House and Tiffany did not respond to requests for comment. Meanwhile, Done+Dusted, the production company that produced the past several Kennedy Center Honors (as well as recent Mark Twain Prizes for American Humor, the center's other big televised event), pulled out of producing this year's honors. Matthew Winer, the center's internal executive producer of the honors, has resigned from the center, along with Emeline Carlisle, the producer and honoree manager. Even in less tumultuous years, the Kennedy Center Honors are a complex, logistical undertaking. The show usually consists of 70 or more other artists celebrating the honorees. Last year, the 2½-hour show featured Queen Latifah, David Letterman, Robert De Niro, Dave Chappelle, Sheryl Crow, Al Pacino and Martin Scorsese, many of whom are outspoken Trump critics. With so many performers avoiding the center, who will be there on the actual night? It might be where Lee Greenwood, the Village People and Kid Rock come in.
Japan Times
an hour ago
- Japan Times
Trump's deal with Nvidia offers path forward in global trade war
U.S. President Donald Trump's controversial plan to take a cut of revenue from chip sales to China has U.S. companies reconsidering their plans for business with the country, offering a model for circumventing years of trade tensions. Experts and people familiar with the matter said the surprise deal, in which Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices agreed to pay 15% of their revenues from Chinese artificial intelligence chip sales to the U.S., provides a path to enter the Chinese market despite severe export controls, tariffs and other trade barriers. The question that companies must now confront is whether the risk is worth taking. People familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations, said companies are struggling to figure out what the president's order means for their future, especially given the unpredictable nature of Trump's decision-making. "This is truly bizarre and unusual, and the troubling thing — beyond the individual instances of AMD and Nvidia — is the possibility that this will be expanded,' said Gary Hufbauer, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. "Everything is now 'national security,' according to the new definition, which means it's all subject to export licenses and then they give you a license based on your contribution.' There are concerns that U.S. trade agencies could begin charging fees to companies every time there's a meeting to discuss tariffs, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations. Trump administration officials defend the idea as a smart way to generate revenue for the U.S. government and suggest it will extend well beyond the chips sector. "I think we could see it in other industries over time,' Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview on Wednesday. "I think right now this is unique, but now that we have the model and the beta tests, why not expand it?' Bessent defended the deal and rejected any national-security concerns around the decision to sell Nvidia's H20 chip to China — something that had been earlier barred for fear of giving China a boost in the AI race. An Nvidia chip. The decision to sell Nvidia's H20 chip to China has raised concerns in the U.S., since its sale to the Chinese market had been barred previously for fear of giving Beijing a boost in the artificial intelligence race. | BLOOMBERG "There are no national security concerns here,' Bessent said. "We would not sell any of the advanced chips. So, the H20, I don't know whether you'd say they're four, five, six levels down the chips stack.' Either way, the deal highlights how Trump has pushed to open a wave of new revenue streams including by taking ownership shares of companies or extracting higher fees to live or work in the U.S. The U.S. is weighing sales of a so-called "gold card' residency permit, it won a "golden share' to have direct say over corporate actions by United States Steel, and it has secured investment pledges and potential revenue-sharing in country-level tariff talks. That's aside from the barrage of product tariffs that have at times left massive dislocations in globally traded markets. The matter further surprised China hawks in the U.S. Congress, who have been unimpressed by the administration's reassurances. Rep. John Moolenaar, the Michigan Republican who chairs the U.S. House Select Committee on China, questioned the legal basis for the move and suggested it does an end-run around controls put in place to limit the sale of sensitive technology to U.S. adversaries. "Export controls are a front-line defense in protecting our national security, and we should not set a precedent that incentivizes the government to grant licenses to sell China technology that will enhance its AI capabilities,' he said. It also raises questions about where the administration will steer the revenue. Trump has mused about issuing tariff rebate checks — though he has yet to seriously pursue the idea — while at other times he's said it would go toward narrowing the large budget deficit. The administration had debated launching a sovereign wealth fund before shelving those plans for now. It's too soon to say whether the administration will seek to revive the fund and steer revenue there, one official familiar with deliberations said. "Trump's aides argue that these measures will strengthen America's AI leadership by maximizing its global influence and market share,' Hal Brands, a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a former Pentagon official, wrote. "Yet it is also possible that they will simply eat into America's innovation advantage.'
