Top US tech executives have struck high-stakes agreements with President Donald Trump aimed at easing tariff impacts.
The White House confirmed Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) will be allowed to sell advanced chips to China in exchange for paying 15% of their Chinese revenue to the US government. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) separately pledged to increase its US investment to US$600bn over four years, a move seen as keeping the company out of Trump’s tariff crosshairs, for now.
Earlier this month, Trump announced a 100% tariff on semiconductor imports, exempting companies building in the US. Apple, which relies on hundreds of chips for its devices and incurred US$800m in tariff costs in the June quarter, qualifies for the exemption.
The Nvidia-AMD arrangement has drawn scrutiny over its legality, with the White House saying the mechanics are still being finalised. Officials also signalled that similar agreements could be reached with other companies in the future.
