Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang acknowledges being recognised by US President Donald Trump as he delivers remarks at an AI summit in Washington in July. AFP
Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang acknowledges being recognised by US President Donald Trump as he delivers remarks at an AI summit in Washington in July. AFP
Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang acknowledges being recognised by US President Donald Trump as he delivers remarks at an AI summit in Washington in July. AFP
Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang acknowledges being recognised by US President Donald Trump as he delivers remarks at an AI summit in Washington in July. AFP

Nvidia to 'follow the rules' after US government says it will take 15% cut of H20 chip sales


Cody Combs
  • English
  • Arabic

Nvidia has said it will follow the rules of the US government in a bid to ensure it can sell its H20 chips to China.

This comes after the White House confirmed both Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices would be giving the US government 15 per cent of revenue generated from selling certain chips to Beijing.

“We follow rules the US government sets for our participation in worldwide markets,” an Nvidia representative told The National on Monday.

“While we haven't shipped H20 to China for months, we hope export control rules will let America compete in China and worldwide.” Nvidia added it wants to make sure “America's AI tech stack” is the international standard in the global artificial intelligence race.

The decision of the US government to take a cut of products such as the H20 are far from normal.

An Nvidia chip on display at China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing. AFP
An Nvidia chip on display at China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing. AFP

The news about the 15 per cent tariff comes weeks after the White House announced that it would allow Nvidia to sell its H20 graphics processing unit to China.

The H20 is designed to comply with US regulations that seek to prevent powerful AI technology from being used by countries it views as adversaries.

During a news conference on Monday, President Donald Trump told reporters that he considered the H20 to be an older chip, and implied that it was not necessarily a threat to sell it to China, but given that Nvidia was so eager to sell it, he insisted on a deal.

“Listen, I want 20 per cent,” he said, recalling his recollection of back-and-forth exchanges with Nvidia. “I want that for the US, not for myself."

Recently, however, critics have suggested that allowing China to have the H20 would be detrimental to US efforts to maintain an AI technology lead.

In late July, a group of Democratic senators urged Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who largely crafts export policies, to reverse course on the licences.

An increasingly adversarial relationship between the US and China prompted Washington to take a close look at its semiconductor export policies. Photo: Deepak Fernandez / Getty Images
An increasingly adversarial relationship between the US and China prompted Washington to take a close look at its semiconductor export policies. Photo: Deepak Fernandez / Getty Images

The legislators said a decision to sell H20 chips to China was “an abrupt departure” from the administration's position in April that Beijing's access to the processors posed a serious national security risk.

Nvidia strongly disagreed with the letter.

“The H20 helps America win the support of developers worldwide, promoting America's economic and national security,” an Nvidia representative told The National in July.

“It does not enhance anyone’s military capabilities, and the US government has full visibility and authority over every H20 transaction.”

The 15 per cent imposed on Nvidia's H2O comes amid a broader debate among technology executives, economists and analysts as to how to protect and potentially expand the US lead in AI, especially with China quickly catching up with American technology.

Former president Joe Biden's administration sought to address concerns about the US maintaining its AI lead through strengthening export controls, which limited certain CPUs and GPUs from being exported to various countries.

That policy, however, was strongly criticised by companies like Microsoft and Nvidia, which said that export controls hurt more than they helped, and threatened to weaken US technology influence around the world.

In defence of the export policies, Biden administration officials maintained that Nvidia witnessed record profits even with the policies in place.

Regardless, the Trump White House has sought to blunt and in some cases reverse some of the export controls.

During the Pennsylvania Energy and AI Summit in July, White House AI and crypto tsar David Sacks suggested the strict export rules alienated US allies while also giving an opening to Chinese companies like Huawei, which has been trying to vastly expand its AI technology and chip infrastructure.

“We don't want to create demand for Huawei,” he said.

The developments of a 15 per cent tariff on Nvidia's H20, however, show that the initial about-face pivot from Biden policies are still a work in progress.

AMD did not immediately respond to The National's requests for comment.

Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3EHigh%20fever%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EIntense%20pain%20behind%20your%20eyes%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ESevere%20headache%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EMuscle%20and%20joint%20pains%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ENausea%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EVomiting%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ESwollen%20glands%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ERash%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIf%20symptoms%20occur%2C%20they%20usually%20last%20for%20two-seven%20days%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The cost of Covid testing around the world

Egypt

Dh514 for citizens; Dh865 for tourists

Information can be found through VFS Global.

Jordan

Dh212

Centres include the Speciality Hospital, which now offers drive-through testing.

Cambodia

Dh478

Travel tests are managed by the Ministry of Health and National Institute of Public Health.

Zanzibar

AED 295

Zanzibar Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, located within the Lumumba Secondary School compound.

Abu Dhabi

Dh85

Abu Dhabi’s Seha has test centres throughout the UAE.

UK

From Dh400

Heathrow Airport now offers drive through and clinic-based testing, starting from Dh400 and up to Dh500 for the PCR test.

The Pope's itinerary

Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport


Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial


Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Floward%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERiyadh%2C%20Saudi%20Arabia%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbdulaziz%20Al%20Loughani%20and%20Mohamed%20Al%20Arifi%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EE-commerce%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETotal%20funding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbout%20%24200%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAljazira%20Capital%2C%20Rainwater%20Partners%2C%20STV%20and%20Impact46%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E1%2C200%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO

Europa League final

Marseille 0

Atletico Madrid 3
Greizmann (21', 49'), Gabi (89')

'Worse than a prison sentence'

Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.

“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.

“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.

“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.

“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.

“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

Naga
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EMeshal%20Al%20Jaser%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EAdwa%20Bader%2C%20Yazeed%20Almajyul%2C%20Khalid%20Bin%20Shaddad%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Islamophobia definition

A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.

The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
Updated: August 12, 2025, 11:49 AM