President Trump concluded an extraordinary deal with NVIDIA and advanced advanced devices that allow companies to sell some chips to China in exchange for granting the US government 15 % of those sales.
However, the unprecedented agreement also raised fears of politicians and legal experts on whether the deal is legal and will pose a threat to national security.
The questions also remain about how the deal, which was announced on Monday, remains because the American constitution prevents export taxes, although some experts said that Trump may find a solution.
The US government may receive $ 3 billion in revenue division if China’s request to N20 in NVIDIA-which is less powerful than the higher artificial intelligence chip of the company-20 billion dollars, according to a note of Bernstein Research.
“It links the fate of the chips manufacturer in a very special way to this administration very rare,” said Julia Powles, professor and executive director of the Institute of Technology, Law and Politics.
She said that the Trump agreement with the most valuable companies in the world can pressure other technology companies and the main exporters to conclude similar deals with the US government, but it is still unclear what are the effects of the international level.
The deal is the latest example of how technology companies seek to prefer with the Trump administration, which threatened to impose a tariff on semiconductor companies that are not committed to investing in the United States.
Apple has also faced a possible tariff, but it is committed to investing $ 100 billion in American manufacturing after Trump criticized the company to expand iPhone production in India.
Trump also set up restrictions in April about exporting some artificial intelligence chips, including NVIDIA H20 and AMD’s Mi308, regarding national security concerns.
He called for the resignation of Intel’s executive lips, who faced its reported investments in Chinese companies, but he changed his compassion after meeting the executive this week.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers have criticized the idea that technology companies must divide their sales with the US government in exchange for export licenses that allow them to resume china sales in China.
“The export controls are the defense of the confrontation line in protecting our national security, and we must not put a precedent that motivates the government on licenses to sell China technology that enhances its capabilities on artificial intelligence,” said MP John Molinaar, head of the China’s Selected Committee in China. statement.
“The deal raises questions about legitimacy and how the money will be used.”
He said: “The administration cannot be treated simultaneously from semiconductor exports as a threat to national security and the opportunity for revenue.” “By putting a price on our security concerns, we refer to China and our allies that US national security principles are negotiable with the correct fees.”
The White House did not answer questions about the agreement. “The legitimacy of this, its mechanics, is still settled by the Ministry of Commerce,” White House press secretary Caroline Levit told reporters on Tuesday.
On Monday, Trump defended the deal with NVIDIA, saying that H20 “outdated” chips and less power than the most high -end Blackwell slide of the company. At a press conference, Trump said he met with the CEO of Nvidia Jensen Huang and initially requested the division of 20 % revenues, but they decreased to 15 %.
“We are negotiating a small deal,” Trump said. “So he mainly sells an old chip.” Trump’s comments came after a report from Financial times During the weekend in which NVIDIA and AMD will pay 15 % of China’s chips’s revenues to the United States government. Amd did not respond to a request for comment.
A NVIDIA spokesman said in a statement that the company has not shipped H20 chips to China for several months, but hopes to reduce export restrictions, “allowing America to compete in China and around the world.”
“America cannot repeat 5G and lose communications.
For NVIDIA, the risks are high. Huang said in an interview with May ClassNews message and podcast that the Chinese market is about $ 50 billion per year. Restricting H20 chips means that the company is away from profits that can be used to compete with China in the race to control artificial intelligence.
Taylar Rajic, a co -fellow in the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that she suspects that legal concerns will stop the arrangement because it is unclear who will be paid.
She said, “I cannot determine who will bring this lawsuit forward.” “Nvidia will not be because they are the ones who negotiated this deal.”
Meanwhile, Chinese officials have their own fears that NVIDIA chips could have a site tracking or remote closing possibilities, although the company denied these accusations.
“It is clear that China has its own fears and national security considerations that you want to take into account,” said Rajik. “It only depends on whether they want to buy it from us too.”