Nvidia Corporation’s stock surged over 13% on Wednesday after reports surfaced that the U.S. government has temporarily paused planned restrictions on the company’s H20 AI chip exports to China. At 1:31 PM ET, shares of Nvidia were up 13.90%, trading at $1,096.90, making it one of the top gainers on Wall Street for the day.
According to an NPR report, the Trump administration backed off from imposing export controls on the H20 chip after Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, attended a private dinner at Mar-a-Lago with former President Donald Trump. The H20 chip is the most advanced AI processor Nvidia is currently allowed to sell in China under existing U.S. restrictions.
The reversal reportedly came after Nvidia pledged fresh investments to establish new AI data center infrastructure within the United States. Two sources told NPR that the restrictions had been finalized and were ready for rollout this week before being shelved following Huang’s meeting with Trump.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration was considering tightening the rules around Nvidia’s AI chip sales to China, continuing policy deliberations from the Biden era. The idea was to curb Beijing’s access to high-end AI computing power amid rising geopolitical and technological tensions.
While neither the White House nor Nvidia has officially commented on the development, market participants viewed the news as a bullish signal, triggering heavy buying across semiconductor stocks.
