AMD’s CEO Lisa Su confirmed that the company has export licences to ship certain AI chips — specifically the MI308 — to China, and is prepared to pay a 15% tax/fee to the U.S. government on those shipments. This arrangement follows a September/August agreement between the administration of Donald Trump and chipmakers (including AMD and Nvidia) that allows limited resumption of AI-chip exports to China — in exchange for this 15% levy.
Why This Tax / Fee Exists — Policy, Security & Trade Dynamics
- The tax is part of a controversial export-control framework: in 2022 the U.S. imposed stricter curbs on exports of advanced computing and semiconductor technologies to China, citing national security concerns.
- The 15% fee essentially acts as a condition for export licences — a trade-off that allows companies like AMD to access the lucrative Chinese market for AI chips, but comes with an added cost
- Some analysts view this as an unprecedented and controversial step — because typical exports don’t carry such a revenue-sharing fee.
What It Means for AMD, China Supply & The AI Chip Market
- For AMD: Resuming shipments opens up a large market demand for AI chips in China, potentially offsetting some of the revenue losses from previous export bans — though margins will be weighed down by the 15% cut.
- For China’s AI sector: The return of AMD chips (and potentially other U.S. AI-chip vendors) could supply Chinese firms and data centres with more compute power, impacting the pace and scale of their AI development. Investing.com
- For global geopolitics & tech export controls: The arrangement signals a shift — from outright bans to a “licensed taxation” model. It may fuel debates over whether such fees are constitutional as export taxes, and whether other countries/emerging technologies may face similar treatment.
What to Watch Going Forward
- Whether AMD (and Nvidia) shipments pick up at scale to China under this model — or if demand remains muted due to higher costs and China’s push for domestic AI chips.
- Regulatory and legal challenges: some experts argue a 15% export-revenue tax may conflict with constitutional limits on export taxation — legal scrutiny might follow.
- Strategic responses from China: Beijing could tighten domestic chip-use rules, promote in-house AI silicon, or impose countermeasures. Indeed, there are already signs China is encouraging domestic hardware use in state-backed projects.
Conclusion
The announcement that AMD will pay a 15% U.S. tax/fee to ship certain AI chips to China marks a significant shift in the post-2022 export-control regime. It reflects a complex balancing act: enabling trade access to a major AI market, but under stricter and costlier terms. For AMD and other chipmakers, it’s a reopening of business with sizable new friction. For global AI and geopolitics, it’s a new paradigm — where technology exports are not just restricted, but monetized.
