nvidia CEO meets Trump administration amid export curbs

2025-01-31 nvidia

Washington, Friday, 31 January 2025.
nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang recently engaged in a significant discussion with the Trump administration about potential relief from export restrictions affecting AI chip sales to China. This meeting comes at a crucial time as nvidia navigates complex trade regulations to maintain its competitive edge in the global AI market. These curbs, particularly targeting the H20 chip designed for the Chinese market, have been discussed by officials since the Biden administration. As the company seeks ways to overcome these barriers, its stock has experienced fluctuations, showing gains despite ongoing trade challenges. DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company, has intensified the situation by releasing competitive AI software, prompting further scrutiny of international chip trade routes, including new investigations into potential re-exportation through other countries. nvidia emphasizes its commitment to comply with U.S. laws, aiming for a balance between regulatory adherence and market access.

Meeting amid intensifying restrictions

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang is set to meet with President Trump at the White House on Friday [1][7] as discussions intensify over potential new restrictions on AI chip exports to China. The Trump administration is specifically examining limitations on the H20 chip, designed for the Chinese market within existing export control parameters [2][3]. The meeting occurs as NVIDIA’s stock shows resilience, with shares finding support at the 200-day moving average despite weekly losses tracking at 11% [1].

DeepSeek concerns trigger investigations

Recent developments with Chinese AI firm DeepSeek have heightened U.S. concerns. The company’s launch of a cost-effective AI model, developed using NVIDIA H800 GPUs at a training cost of $5.576 million [3][4], has prompted U.S. Commerce Department investigations into potential circumvention of export controls through countries including Singapore and Malaysia [6]. NVIDIA has stated there is no evidence of DeepSeek violating U.S. export controls [6].

Market implications and company response

NVIDIA faces significant market implications as China represents its largest semiconductor market [3]. The company maintains it will cooperate with the administration’s AI strategy [2], though it has expressed concerns that restrictions could strengthen China’s determination for tech independence and potentially undermine U.S. business interests [4]. Commerce Secretary nominee Howard Lutnick has indicated he will maintain a ‘very tough’ stance on chip export controls [3].

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NVIDIA export curbs