Democrats Open Inquiry Into Nvidia’s China Chip Export Deal

Two senior Democrats opened a congressional inquiry Thursday into the Trump administration’s approval of Nvidia’s H200 chip sales to China, seeking records on the arrangement amid questions about its terms.

Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, asked Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to preserve records related to the export arrangement. Their letter separately questions whether Nvidia’s donations to Trump projects influenced the approval. As members of the minority party, Neal and Wyden can seek answers but cannot compel a response.

The lawmakers’ letter describes an arrangement in which Trump agreed to allow sales of Nvidia’s H200 chips to China if the Taiwan-made chips first shipped through the United States. It says Trump added a tariff after the chips arrived, followed by an export license from the Commerce Department. Neal and Wyden characterize the tariff as a possible unconstitutional export tax that took a cut of Nvidia’s China sales.

In August 2025, Nvidia and AMD agreed to share 15% of revenue from chip sales to China with the U.S. government as part of export-license deals. The lawmakers’ letter also questions why Lutnick continued allowing purchases by Megaspeed, a Singapore-based Nvidia customer, after he was reportedly informed by U.S. intelligence of suspicions involving Alice Huang, a Megaspeed executive, and her relationship with Nvidia founder Jensen Huang. U.S. officials suspect Megaspeed of helping route advanced Nvidia chips into China.

The letter asks whether Nvidia’s $26 million in donations to Trump projects, including a ballroom, influenced the export arrangement. It says the approval came after Trump learned of what Neal and Wyden called Huang’s “compromised position.” The congressional inquiry adds to scrutiny of Nvidia after its board opened an independent inquiry into national-security concerns.

Separately, Huang agreed Thursday to testify in a closed-door session requested by Republican-led House committees, which had threatened to subpoena him.