US Commerce Secretary Says Nvidia H200 Chip Sales to China Stalled

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced that Nvidia has not yet sold its H200 AI GPUs to Chinese companies, despite the Trump administration lifting the export ban in January 2026. Lutnick attributed the lack of sales to the Chinese central government, which is blocking imports to prioritize the growth of its domestic semiconductor industry and restricting acquisitions primarily to universities and research labs.

While the U.S. government authorized these sales subject to a 25% fee, shipments remain stalled. Contributing factors include disagreements over sales terms in both countries and reported bottlenecks at the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security, where individual application reviews are slowing the process.

There are conflicting reports regarding the status of these transactions. Lutnick maintains that no sales have occurred, while Nvidia claimed during GTC 2026 that it had already received orders and export licenses from multiple Chinese customers. This deadlock has seen Nvidia's market share in China drop below 60% as Beijing pushes domestic firms to adopt local alternatives such as Huawei.