Two months after President Donald Trump approved the H200 exports to China, they have yet to begin.
- The U.S. State Department is considering imposing additional restrictions on H200 chip sales, in addition to those announced by Washington in December.
- The issue has become a major drag for Nvidia, which has lost considerable business in China.
- Stocktwits sentiment for NVDA remained ‘neutral.’
The U.S. State Department is considering additional restrictions on sales of Nvidia’s H200 chips to Chinese customers, the Financial Times reported late Tuesday, potentially delaying a key Washington approval needed to resume shipments.
Chinese customers, meanwhile, are not placing H200 chip orders with Nvidia until it becomes clear whether they will be able to secure the licences and what conditions will be attached, according to the report, which cited people familiar with the matter.
H200 China Sales In Limbo
Nvidia’s sales in China have now been upset for years amid U.S.-China diplomatic and trade tensions. In December, President Donald Trump allowed Nvidia to export its H200 chips to the Asian nation under conditions and through case-by-case licenses, raising hopes that Nvidia would soon return to a market its CEO Jensen Huang has said could be worth $50 billion a year.
That has yet to happen, with the situation remaining in flux amid unclear and shifting positions of Washington and Beijing on the issue.
Retail Reaction
The news generated buzz around Nvidia on Stocktwits, pushing the ticker into the platform’s top five trending names late Tuesday. However, retail sentiment remained ‘neutral,’ unchanged over the past week.
News about progress on an investment deal with OpenAI also drove the sentiment, while members speculated that the U.S. approval of H200 sales might coincide with Trump’s visit to China in April.
The Issue
The FT report said the Commerce Department had completed its review, but the State Department had been pressing for tighter restrictions to limit China’s ability to use the H200 chips in ways that could threaten U.S. national security.
The December U.S. approval, which also applies to AMD, allows the U.S. to take a 25% cut of sales while imposing strict licensing rules, including requirements that half of shipments go to U.S. customers and that chips undergo third-party testing and end-use reporting.
Shortly after U.S. approval, Chinese authorities reportedly instructed its customs to stop H200 imports and domestic firms not to purchase them unless necessary.
Nvidia shares have declined 3.3% so far in the new year, and are down by over 13% from their Nov. 3 peak.
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