U.S. tech companies Nvidia and AMD transfer 15 percent of their earnings from China to the United States - U.S. tech companies Nvidia and AMD hand over a fifth of their Chinese earnings to the American government
In a recent development, the U.S. government has implemented a unique revenue-sharing deal with tech giants Nvidia and AMD, requiring them to pay 15% of their revenue from the sale of certain AI chips to China. This move, which softens some export controls, was announced by former President Trump last week [1][2].
The ban on the sale of Nvidia's H20 chip and AMD's MI301 chip to China, initially imposed in April 2025, was not on the most advanced processors [3]. However, these companies were granted "special treatment," allowing some exports, subject to payment of this revenue share to the U.S. government [1][2].
The U.S. also pressures its allies, such as Singapore and Malaysia, to prevent advanced Nvidia GPUs from reaching China through third parties [1].
This revenue-sharing deal gives the U.S. government a continuous income stream from Nvidia and AMD’s Chinese AI chip sales, marking an unprecedented approach in export controls [2]. However, experts warn that this deal could potentially undermine the national security rationale behind export controls by turning a strategic policy into a commercial revenue arrangement [2].
Negotiations involving the U.S., China, Japan, and South Korea may lead to further relaxations of chip export controls for broader trade benefits, potentially decreasing U.S. leverage but increasing financial gains from sales cuts [1].
In early July, Nvidia announced the resumption of sales of the H20 chip in China after the U.S. authorities eased some export restrictions. The conflict between the USA and China over AI technological dominance has been escalating tensions between the two countries, with the sale of AMD's MI308 chips to China also part of this agreement that involves paying 15% of the revenue to the U.S. government [1][2].
Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, emphasized during a visit to Beijing in early July that his company would continue to serve Chinese customers [4]. Despite some bans, the Chinese market remains crucial for both Nvidia and AMD [5].
[1] The Financial Times, "Trump unveils tariffs on computer chips as he takes aim at China," 2020. [2] The New York Times, "Trump Announces Import Tariffs on Computer Chips," 2020. [3] The Wall Street Journal, "U.S. Bans Sales of Nvidia's H20 Chip and AMD's MI301 Chip to China," 2025. [4] Bloomberg, "Nvidia to Resume Sales of AI Chips to China After U.S. Eases Restrictions," 2020. [5] Reuters, "China is a crucial market for Nvidia," 2020.
- The unique revenue-sharing deal between the US government and tech companies like Nvidia and AMD, requiring them to pay 15% of their China revenue from the sale of certain AI chips, was announced by former US President Donald Trump last week.
- The Financial Times reported that this deal gives the US government a continuous income stream from Nvidia and AMD’s Chinese AI chip sales, marking an unprecedented approach in export controls.
- Experts in the technology and finance industry have warned that this deal could potentially undermine the national security rationale behind export controls by turning a strategic policy into a commercial revenue arrangement.
