Nvidia & AMD Forced to Surrender 15% of China Chip Revenue to US for Export Rights

Tech giants Nvidia and AMD just got slapped with a brutal new tax—pay up or lose access to the world's biggest semiconductor market.

The Silicon Tollbooth

Washington's latest power play forces the chipmakers to hand over 15% of their China sales revenue just to keep export licenses active. No negotiations, no loopholes—just raw geopolitical leverage.

Chip Wars Escalate

This isn't about national security anymore—it's a straight-up revenue grab. The US government now effectively operates as a silent partner in every AI accelerator sold across the Great Firewall.

Wall Street analysts are already salivating over the arbitrage opportunities—because nothing fuels innovation like government-mandated profit-sharing schemes.

• Nvidia and AMD will pay the US government 15% of the sale of their chips in China to obtain export licenses.
• The transaction enables Nvidia and AMD to continue supplying AI chips to China despite the trade conflict with the United States.
• Rising concerns about the H20 chip’s potential military use in China as US export policy undergoes changes.

The US government will receive 15% of the revenue generated by the sales of Nvidia and AMD chips in China. This is the first breakthrough regarding US policy in export control, as this agreement was made after the export licenses were issued last week. The deal enables the firms to continue providing China with semiconductors in line with the regulations of the Trump administration.

The Financial Times reported Nvidia WOULD share 15% of its H20 chip revenue, and AMD would do the same with its MI308 chips. These chips are critical to the development of artificial intelligence. A US official who is acquainted with the arrangement confirmed the deal, but the government has not made a decision on the spending of the funds.

Nvidia and AMD’s Deal Fuels Export Control Debate

The unusual structure has drawn controversy. According to experts, no US company has ever conceded to share revenues with the government as part of an export license agreement. The transaction has been hailed as a monetary motivation for company conformity with export controls. Such regulations have been a contentious issue as part of the trade war between the US and China.

The US Commerce Department approved the licenses of both Nvidia and AMD chips a few days after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang met President Donald Trump. The licenses give the companies a right to sell their semiconductors in China, yet critics fear that the chips will enable China to enhance its AI and thus military power, gaining it a possible military advantage.

Source: Nvidia

H20 Chip’s Military Concerns Spark Debate

US security officials have expressed their concern that the H20 chip would have the potential of enhancing China’s military processes. They have cautioned that these technologies could weaken US leadership in artificial intelligence. But Nvidia has rejected these claims and said that the chip will not be used in the military.

Nvidia’s decision to participate in the revenue-sharing agreement is a sign of a shift in US export control policy. In the past, the government has encouraged businesses to invest in their country in order to circumvent tariffs. Nevertheless, export licenses are currently being employed as a mechanism to increase revenue to the US through overseas sales.

The deal has stirred up issues concerning the US-China trade relations. The TRUMP administration is in negotiations to liberalize export regimes related to high-bandwidth memory chips, and it may affect the future of international technology exports.