Trump’s chip revenue-for-licenses deal raises global trade concerns
U.S. chipmakers Nvidia and AMD have reportedly agreed to pay 15% of their China revenue to the U.S. government in exchange for export licenses needed to sell advanced semiconductors to Chinese firms. This arrangement, aimed at controlling China’s access to key AI technologies, marks a pivotal shift in U.S. trade policy under the Trump administration. The deal follows a prolonged export license freeze and has sparked criticism of a “pay-to-play” approach that ties economic diplomacy to political leverage.
This precedent blurs the line between trade regulation and transactional policy — with wide implications for global tech competition and industry compliance norms.
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