US: 25% Chip Tariffs and "Green Light" for H200 to China

The US Administration adopted a dual package of measures to regulate the AI hardware market on January 14–15, 2026. On one hand, a 25% tariff was imposed on imports of certain computing chip categories, aimed at protecting local production (CHIPS Act). On the other, regulators authorized the export of NVIDIA H200 GPUs to China, subject to strict end-use monitoring conditions.

This decision attempts to balance containing China's technological growth with maintaining revenue for US chipmakers. The H200 export authorization (albeit with restrictions) relieves some pressure on NVIDIA, whose stock is reacting with growth. However, new tariffs could complicate logistics for global server assemblers.

Source: Reuters / Axios