Overview
- Commerce Department rules require U.S. third‑party testing, exporter certification of sufficient domestic supply, a cap limiting China shipments to 50% of U.S. customer volumes, and bans on military use.
- The White House imposed a 25% tariff on a narrow set of advanced computing chips, naming Nvidia’s H200 and AMD’s MI325X, with exemptions for U.S. data centers, startups and other supply chain needs, and signaled possible broader semiconductor tariffs ahead.
- Chinese customs officials have told agents that H200 processors are effectively not permitted to enter for now, with authorities warning companies to avoid purchases unless necessary and exploring limited exceptions such as research uses.
- A House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing featured bipartisan criticism and warnings from former national security officials that allowing H200 sales could erode the U.S. AI lead and aid Beijing’s military modernization.
- Nvidia says it has restarted H200 production to meet strong interest and supports the controlled-sales framework, while denying reports it requires upfront payments from Chinese buyers.