Trump and Xi Reach Tariff Deal but Exclude Nvidia Chips

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping reached an agreement in South Korea to pause punitive tariffs for one year. The deal includes reducing U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods from 57% to 47%, suspending U.S. port fees on Chinese maritime industries, and a reciprocal suspension of Chinese restrictions on U.S. rare-earth mineral imports.

Despite the trade concessions, the summit did not resolve restrictions on advanced semiconductors. Trump initially sparked investor speculation by suggesting he might discuss the sale of Nvidia's "super duper" Blackwell AI chips with Xi. This speculation briefly pushed Nvidia's valuation to a record $5 trillion. However, Trump later clarified that while the leaders discussed general semiconductor access, they were "not talking about the Blackwell."

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang expressed uncertainty about the company's future in China, noting that business there has dropped to zero after the Chinese government discouraged the use of approved lower-end models like the H20 in favor of domestic alternatives from Huawei. Huang argued that isolating Chinese developers could hinder the U.S. AI race, though he credited Trump for efforts to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to the United States.

Trump described the U.S. as the "arbitrator or the referee" in these dealings and stated that Nvidia and China must resolve the specific matter of chip sales through direct discussion.