The US Commerce Department has begun issuing licences to Nvidia allowing the export of its H20 chips to China, following a personal lobbying effort by the company’s chief executive Jensen Huang during meetings with President Donald Trump, the Financial Times reported. The move comes after weeks of delay despite a prior decision by the administration to permit the sales.
A US official told the Financial Times that the Bureau of Industry and Security, the branch of the Commerce Department responsible for export controls, had started approving the licences. The H20 chip was specifically designed for the Chinese market after the Biden administration imposed restrictions on the sale of more advanced artificial intelligence semiconductors to China.
In April, the Trump administration appeared to adopt a tougher stance, telling Nvidia it could not sell the H20 to Chinese customers. However, that position was reversed after Huang visited the White House and met Trump in person to press the case for the exports. Despite the reversal, Nvidia grew frustrated when three weeks passed without any sign that the necessary licences were being issued.
Huang returned to the White House on Wednesday for another meeting with the president. Two days later, the Commerce Department began granting the export approvals, according to people familiar with the matter. Nvidia declined to comment on the development, while the Commerce Department also refused to provide a statement.
This decision is expected to ease tensions between Nvidia and Washington over chip sales to China, an issue at the centre of US technology policy and its broader strategic competition with Beijing. The move also signals a more flexible approach by the Trump administration towards high-tech exports, despite ongoing national security concerns.
