U.S. President Donald Trump looks on before signing a bill in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, January 14, 2026.
Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that his administration would approve sales of Nvidiathe H200 chip for artificial intelligencebut the US government will take 25% of sales, one day after formal regulation have been published by the American government.
Unlike Nvidia’s previous chip intended for China, the H20the H200 is a version of the company’s Hopper generation that is also sold in the United States and other markets. The H200 was not specifically designed and slowed down for export.
Trump pointed out on Wednesday that the H200’s performance had been surpassed by two generations of Nvidia chips currently in production, namely Nvidia’s Blackwell and Rubin AI chips.
“It’s not the highest level, but it’s a pretty good level, and China wants them and others want them and we’re going to make 25% on the sale of these chips, basically,” Trump said.
Trump initially announced his approval of H200 chips and the government’s 25% cut a month ago.
Previously, Nvidia said the Chinese market could be worth 50 billion dollars per year.
“We allow them to do it, but the United States gets 25% of the tokens, in terms of dollar value,” Trump said.
In a depot published Tuesdaythe Commerce Department said the rule change has certain requirements, including that the exporter certify that there is a sufficient supply of H200 chips in the United States and that the chips will not use global foundry capacity needed for more advanced AI chips destined for the United States.
Read more CNBC tech newsThe government has said chip customers should have sufficient security procedures and that chips will have to undergo independent third-party testing in the United States to confirm their specifications before being shipped.
Chip shipments to China would be capped at 50% of total product shipped to U.S. customers. The file also mentions AMDThe MI325X chip.
“We welcome President Trump’s decision to allow the U.S. chip industry to compete to support good-paying jobs and manufacturing in America,” an Nvidia spokesperson said in a statement. “Offering H200 to authorized commercial customers, approved by the Department of Commerce, strikes a wise balance that is great for America.”
“Critics of the administration unintentionally favor the interests of foreign competitors on U.S. entity lists. America should always want its industry to compete for vetted, vetted business activities, supporting real jobs for real Americans,” the spokesperson continued.
Last week, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told reporters that the company was seeing “very high” interest in its H200 chip from China customers and that the company had started producing the chip again.
″We have activated our supply chain and the H200s are moving through the chain,” Huang said. said during a press conference in the CES conference in Las Vegas.
It is unclear whether Chinese regulators will approve the import of Nvidia chips, as the country aims to promote locally produced but lower quality AI chips to ensure self-sufficiency.
Huang said last week that he did not expect an announcement from China.
“We are not expecting any press releases or any major statements,” Huang said. “It will just be purchase orders.”
Last year, Huang provided a two-year forecast of AI chip sales of $500 billion through the end of 2026. Any H200 sales to China would add to that forecast, he said last week.
The White House announced Wednesday that it had also imposed a 25% tax price of imports on certain chips like the H200, which must be imported into the United States for testing before being shipped to China.
