In a move that could reshape the semiconductor trade between the US and China, Nvidia and AMD have agreed to hand over 15% of their revenue from sales of advanced AI chips to China to the US government. The arrangement, disclosed by a US official to Reuters on Sunday, applies to high-end processors such as Nvidia’s H20, designed for artificial intelligence applications.

The decision comes after a series of policy shifts. In April, President Donald Trump’s administration halted sales of H20 chips to China, citing export control concerns. However, last month Nvidia announced it had been informed that sales could resume, with deliveries expected soon. The US Commerce Department has since begun issuing licenses for these transactions, according to another US official.

When asked about the 15% revenue contribution, a Nvidia spokesperson said, "We follow rules the US government sets for our participation in worldwide markets." The spokesperson added, "While we haven't shipped H20 to China for months, we hope export control rules will let America compete in China and worldwide."

AMD did not respond to requests for comment. The US Department of Commerce also declined to provide an immediate statement.

The Financial Times, which first reported the deal, noted that the payment condition was tied to the granting of export licenses for semiconductors, including AMD’s MI308 chips. The Trump administration has not yet determined how the collected funds will be used.

Reactions to the policy have been mixed. “It’s wild,” remarked Geoff Gertz, a senior fellow at the Center for New American Security in Washington, DC. “Either selling H20 chips to China is a national security risk, in which case we shouldn’t be doing it to begin with, or it’s not a national security risk, in which case, why are we putting this extra penalty on the sale?”

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick recently told CNBC that the resumption of AI chip sales was linked to broader negotiations with China over rare earth supplies. He described the H20 as Nvidia’s “fourth-best chip” and argued it was in America’s interest for Chinese companies to rely on US technology—even if the most advanced versions remained off-limits—to keep them within the American “tech stack.”

A US official confirmed that the administration did not view sales of H20 and equivalent chips as a threat to national security. However, the exact timeline for implementing the agreement remains unclear.

Alasdair Phillips-Robins, who served as an adviser at the Commerce Department under former President Joe Biden, criticized the policy, suggesting it sends mixed signals about the US stance on tech exports to China.

As the global AI race accelerates, the deal underscores Washington’s strategy to maintain technological influence in China while extracting direct economic benefits from controlled chip sales.