Jennifer Lee
Reporting on April 9 suggested that the Trump administration in the United States had reversed course on restricting the export to China of H20 chips – Nvidia’s most advanced offering to remain outside U.S. export controls. Reportedly, the White House’s change of heart followed President Donald Trump’s dinner with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. The news surprised the industry, especially as restricting the sale of high-end chips has been a part of Trump’s tech policy toward China.
But reports on April 15 revealed that the Trump administration had in fact told Nvidia on April 9 that the H20 chips would be subject to licensing for China. Nvidia was told to expect the license requirements “for the indefinite future.”
The administration, offering its usual response to what was likely a spur of the moment comment from the president, attributed the April 9 report to “fake news.”
The ultimate decision to restrict China’s access to the H20 chips should not come as a surprise. Since returning to the White House, the Trump administration had indicated that it would deepen tech restrictions in the context of China-U.S. competition. This included a move to restrict H20 exports. H20 chips, along with China’s access to a variety of other advanced chips purchased through third parties, may have contributed to Chinese companies’ ability to innovate and work around U.S. limitations.
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