US introduces AI chip tariffs and skims revenue from Nvidia and AMD

"The US government has introduced new import tariffs on advanced AI chips from Nvidia and AMD, with the aim of channelling part of the proceeds from sales to China directly into the US treasury. According to the Financial Times, the measure is part of President Donald Trump's broader trade and industrial policy, which explicitly intertwines economic transactions and national security."

"The core of the scheme is that the United States will receive approximately 25 percent of the revenue chipmakers generate from the sale of certain AI processors to Chinese customers. This will be done through specific tariffs on chips imported into the US and then shipped to customers elsewhere in the world. This effectively implements an earlier policy change that permitted the export of certain AI chips to China, subject to financial conditions."

"According to industry sources, tariffs were chosen to make the scheme legally robust. Direct payments of revenue to the government could be more easily challenged, while import duties are easier to defend under existing legislation. At the same time, the levies provide the US government with direct revenue from a market that was largely closed until recently. The measure applies to, among others, Nvidia's H200 and AMD's MI325X, both intended for heavy AI applications."

New US import tariffs will capture about 25 percent of revenue that chipmakers generate from sales of certain AI processors to Chinese customers. The levies apply to processors imported into the United States and then shipped onward, implementing a prior policy change that allowed some exports to China under financial conditions. Tariffs were chosen to strengthen legal defensibility compared with direct revenue payments. The measure targets advanced models including Nvidia's H200 and AMD's MI325X while excluding chips used to build US AI infrastructure to support domestic investment. The policy is part of a wider national security review of semiconductor dependence and potential future tariffs.

Read at Techzine Global