Trump says he wanted 20% cut of Nvidia’s China sales, but Jensen Huang begged for 15%

Donald Trump said on Monday that he started negotiations with Nvidia, demanding a 20% cut of its sales to China, but agreed to 15% after CEO Jensen Huang personally met him at the White House.

The deal gives the chipmaker export control licenses so it can resume selling its China-specific H20 chip. The meeting between Trump and Huang happened on Friday, just days before the announcement.

Trump told reporters in Washington that his initial 20% demand was tied to signing off on the exports. Huang’s talks with him brought the rate down to 15%.

The agreement is part of a broader plan to control which U.S.-made AI chips can be sold to China while still letting companies compete for business there. Trump confirmed that Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) will pay the same 15% to export its Instinct MI308 chip to China under similar terms.

Trump rejects unrestricted Blackwell exports to China

Trump described the H20 as “an old chip that China already has” and called it “obsolete.” He compared it to Nvidia’s current top product, the Blackwell chip, and made clear it would not be approved for export without heavy restrictions. He said any Blackwell sold to China would need its performance cut by 30% to 50%.

“The Blackwell is super-duper advanced. I wouldn’t make a deal with that,” Trump said, adding that a “somewhat enhanced in a negative way” version could be possible. He claimed Blackwell is “the latest and the greatest in the world” and that no one else would have it for at least five years.

The administration’s export rules are aimed at blocking China from getting AI chips that could speed up its AI capabilities enough to surpass the U.S. in certain technologies. Trump also said China already has chips similar to the H20. Huang has argued that letting China’s AI developers use U.S. chips is better for national security than forcing them to build their own. Trump countered, “He’s selling essentially an old chip,” and pointed out that Huawei has one like it.

H20 chip’s limited design and halted sales

The H20 was built specifically for the Chinese market, with slower performance than Nvidia’s U.S. products. It is related to the H100 and H200 models but was created after the Biden administration’s 2023 export controls stopped sales of higher-end AI chips to China.

In April 2025, Trump’s administration extended those rules, requiring licenses to sell the H20. By May, Huang said this “effectively closed” China’s market for the chip. Before sales stopped, Nvidia had projected about $8 billion in H20 sales for the July quarter.

Nvidia has not shipped the H20 to China for months. In a statement to CNBC on Monday, a company spokesperson said they hoped the new export control rules would allow U.S. companies to compete both in China and worldwide.

Trump also said Huang will be back at the White House to discuss possible Blackwell exports under modified performance limits. “I think he’s coming to see me again about that,” Trump said.

The White House confirmed that AMD will also pay the same 15% rate to get an export license for its China-focused Instinct MI308 chip.