CNBC AI News, August 16th – Whispers circulating about a revenue-sharing agreement between U.S. chip giants Nvidia and AMD and the U.S. government regarding AI chip sales to China have now been confirmed.
The White House officially acknowledged today that Nvidia and AMD have entered into a unique arrangement, agreeing to remit 15% of their revenue from chip sales within China back to the U.S. government. This concession secures them the necessary export licenses to continue operating in the critical Chinese market.
According to the White House, this framework is not set in stone and could potentially extend to encompass additional companies in the future.
The burning question, however, is: what’s the rationale behind this novel levy? The U.S. Treasury Secretary shed light on the matter in a recent interview.
“The Trump administration envisions leveraging the revenue generated from these commissions on Nvidia and AMD’s AI chip sales to China to directly address U.S. national debt. The agreement stipulates a 15% remittance to the U.S. government on AI GPU sales to China, with Nvidia’s H20 currently identified as the primary product subject to this requirement.”
The Treasury Secretary further indicated that the impetus for this measure originated from former President Trump.
He posited that this agreement is mutually beneficial, enabling Nvidia to “maintain and expand its footprint in the Chinese market, positioning its chips as the gold standard in China’s burgeoning tech sector, while simultaneously allowing American taxpayers to share in the financial upside.”
While currently limited to AMD and Nvidia, the possibility of extending this arrangement to other sectors down the line is not being ruled out.
This news arrives against a backdrop of burgeoning U.S. national debt, which has surpassed $37 trillion – approximately 1.27 times the projected 2024 U.S. nominal GDP.
With a national population approaching 342 million as of July 2025, this translates to an “average” debt burden exceeding $108,000 per American.
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