The U.S. Department of Commerce has reportedly approved the export of Nvidia's advanced H200 AI chips to select customers in China, a move that signals a complex shift in Washington's semiconductor trade policy despite ongoing national security concerns and congressional opposition.

According to reports by Semafor and CNBC, the U.S. government will receive a 25% cut from these sales. Nvidia will be permitted to ship H200 chips that are approximately 18 months old, which are significantly more advanced than the H20 chips previously developed by Nvidia specifically for the Chinese market.

An Nvidia spokesperson told TechCrunch, "We applaud President Trump’s decision to allow America’s chip industry to compete to support high paying jobs and manufacturing in America. Offering H200 to approved commercial customers, vetted by the Department of Commerce, strikes a thoughtful balance that is great for America."

This decision comes just a week after U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick indicated that the final say on exporting these H200 chips to China rested with President Donald Trump. It also directly clashes with bipartisan congressional efforts to restrict advanced AI chip sales to China due to national security concerns.

Congressional Opposition to AI Chip Exports

On December 4, Senators Pete Ricketts (R-Nebraska) and Chris Coons (D-Delaware) introduced the Secure and Feasible Exports Act (SAFE) Chips Act. This bill aims to block the export of advanced AI chips to China for more than two years.

The SAFE Chips Act proposes a 30-month denial of export licenses for advanced AI chips to China by the Department of Commerce. The future of this bill, and when it might be voted on, remains uncertain following the Trump administration's recent approval for H200 sales.

Trump Administration's Evolving Stance

President Trump's stance on AI chip exports to China has been inconsistent, contrasting with a more unified congressional desire to restrict such sales. Earlier this year, in April, the Trump administration imposed licensing requirements on chip companies like Nvidia for exports to China. This was followed by the formal rescission of a Biden administration diffusion rule in May that would have regulated AI chip exports.

Over the summer, the U.S. government signaled that companies could resume sending chips to China, provided the government received a 15% cut of all revenue. This move positioned chips as a bargaining tool in ongoing trade talks with China.

However, by that point, the market for U.S.-developed chips in China had already faced significant strain. In September, China’s internet regulator, the Cyberspace Administration of China, reportedly banned domestic companies from purchasing Nvidia’s chips, compelling them to rely on less advanced domestic alternatives from companies like Alibaba and Huawei.

In a recent Truth Social post, President Trump stated that Chinese President Xi Jinping "responded positively" to the latest H200 news.