Global chipmakers feel the pinch of Trump’s shifting trade policy

Global chipmakers feel the pinch of Trump’s shifting trade policy
An NVIDIA logo is displayed on a building in Taipei, Taiwan, on April 16, 2025. (REUTERS)
Short Url
Updated 17 April 2025
Follow

Global chipmakers feel the pinch of Trump’s shifting trade policy

Global chipmakers feel the pinch of Trump’s shifting trade policy
  • Nvidia has warned of a $5.5 billion hit after Washington restricted exports of its AI processor tailored for China
  • Tightening US export curbs have in recent years made it harder for American chipmakers to tap the Chinese market

 

Global chip stocks were battered on Wednesday on fresh evidence of how US President Donald Trump’s shifting trade policy was complicating the outlook for semiconductor and computing giants, including AI pioneer Nvidia and its rival AMD.
Attempts to reorient global trade through tariffs and export curbs have started to show the effect as Nvidia warned of a $5.5 billion hit after Washington restricted exports of its AI processor tailored for China, while Dutch chip-making tools giant ASML raised doubts about its outlook.
The US restriction, which also hit the MI308 processor of Advanced Micro Devices, marked the latest blow for the AI chip trade that is losing steam after a two-year rally as tariff threats and fears over Big Tech’s spending weigh on sentiment.
Nvidia shares closed down nearly 7 percent on Wednesday, with the company losing more than $148 billion in market value. AMD fell 5.8 percent as it warned of a $800 million hit from the latest curb, while AI-related chip stocks including Arm, Broadcom and Micron dropped between 2.5 percent and 4.6 percent.
Nvidia said on Wednesday that it follows the US government’s directions on where it can sell its chips after the US Commerce Department announced on Tuesday it was issuing new export licensing requirements for Nvidia’s H20 chips.
“The US government instructs American businesses on what they can sell and where — we follow the government’s directions to the letter,” Nvidia said.
“The technology industry supports America when it exports to well-known companies worldwide — if the government felt otherwise, it would instruct us,” the company added.




Global stock markets mostly retreated Wednesday after the US government imposed restrictions on exports of a key Nvidia chip to China, the latest trade war salvo between the world's biggest economies. (AFP)

Tightening US export curbs have in recent years made it harder for American chipmakers to tap the Chinese market, but the country remains a key source of revenue.
“The US export restrictions on Nvidia’s H20 chips highlight the growing geopolitical uncertainty enveloping the tech and semiconductor sectors, particularly under Trump-era-style policy reversals,” said Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point Capital.
“This unpredictability rattles businesses and investment markets, as evidenced by Nvidia’s selloff this morning and broader pressure across chip stocks.”
Nvidia drew over 13 percent of its sales, or about $17 billion, from China in its last financial year, although that was down from 21 percent in fiscal 2023. For AMD, China was its second-largest market last year, accounting for more than 24 percent of total sales.
“The H20 portion was about $12 billion or so (of the total China revenue), roughly about 30 cents of earnings per share, not trivial but not enormous in the grand scheme of things,” Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon said.
“H20 performance is low, well below already-available Chinese alternatives; a ban essentially simply hands the Chinese AI market over to Huawei.”
Rasgon said the move may have surprised many investors as shares had surged nearly 18 percent last week, partly due to a report that the Trump administration planned to back off from such a curb after CEO Jensen Huang attended a Mar-a-Lago dinner.
The company had earlier this week unveiled plans to build AI servers worth as much as $500 billion in the US over the next four years, a move largely seen as an overture to Trump.
Trump has for now exempted semiconductors and some other electronics from his tariffs, but he has warned that sector-specific levies will be announced in the coming weeks.
Such tariffs could cost US semiconductor equipment makers more than $1 billion a year, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

NVIDIA fallout
News of the latest export curb on Nvidia sparked a selloff in chip companies and its suppliers across the globe.
In South Korea, Samsung closed down about 3 percent, while SK Hynix closed 4 percent lower.
European chipmakers ASM International and Infineon Technologies fell more than 2 percent, while Japanese chip-testing equipment maker Advantest — an Nvidia supplier — was the Nikkei’s second-worst performer with a 5 percent tumble.

Still, some analysts said Nvidia’s overall sales have continued to surge even as the China contribution slows while chip demand remains strong from big cloud companies.
“While we acknowledge the likely impact to near-term numbers, we would stress that Blackwell shipments to core hyperscale customers remains the driver of fundamentals,” TD Cowen analysts said, referring to Nvidia’s latest line of AI systems.
 


Air India flight makes emergency landing in Thailand after bomb threat; all passengers off plane

Air India flight makes emergency landing in Thailand after bomb threat; all passengers off plane
Updated 4 sec ago
Follow

Air India flight makes emergency landing in Thailand after bomb threat; all passengers off plane

Air India flight makes emergency landing in Thailand after bomb threat; all passengers off plane
  • Indian airlines, airports received nearly 1,000 hoax calls and messages in first 10 months of 2024
  • Incident follows Air India flight crash in Ahmedabad on Thursday, which killed over 240 people

BANGKOK: An Air India flight from Phuket in Thailand to India’s capital New Delhi received an onboard bomb threat on Friday and made an emergency landing on the island, airport authorities said.

All 156 passengers on flight AI 379 had been escorted from the plane, in line with emergency plans, an Airports of Thailand official said.

The aircraft took off from Phuket airport bound for the Indian capital at 9.30 a.m. (0230 GMT) on Friday, but made a wide loop around the Andaman Sea and landed back on the southern Thai island, according to flight tracker Flightradar24.

The incident follows the crash of an Air India flight in Ahmedabad on Thursday shortly after takeoff, in which more than 240 people were killed.

AOT did not provide details on the bomb threat. Air India did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Indian airlines and airports were inundated with hoax bomb threats last year, with nearly 1,000 hoax calls and messages received in the first 10 months, nearly 10 times that of 2023.


Mexican citizen dies in US immigration detention center

Mexican citizen dies in US immigration detention center
Updated 58 min 37 sec ago
Follow

Mexican citizen dies in US immigration detention center

Mexican citizen dies in US immigration detention center
  • The man died on June 7 at an ICE facility in the southern state of Georgia
  • US authorities notified the Mexican consulate in Georgia’s capital Atlanta of the death

MEXICO CITY: A Mexican citizen died in a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center from undetermined circumstances, Mexico’s foreign ministry has said.

The death comes amid ongoing demonstrations in several US states, most prominently in California, against immigration enforcement raids launched by US President Donald Trump’s administration.

The man died on June 7 at an ICE facility in the southern state of Georgia, where he was being held after he was transferred from a state prison, the foreign ministry said in a statement Thursday.

US authorities notified the Mexican consulate in Georgia’s capital Atlanta of the death.

“Consular staff has established communication with local and ICE authorities, as well as with the individual’s family members, to clarify the facts, confirm the official cause of death, and provide legal advice and support to the family,” the ministry said.

Mexico’s foreign ministry said consular staff had not been notified to interview the detainee while he was in custody, despite regular visits to the facility to assist Mexican nationals.

“The consulate has requested an explanation from the (detention) center’s authorities,” the ministry said.

It also said it was examining legal options and maintaining communication with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the state’s independent investigative body.


Japan ‘strongly condemns’ Israel’s attack on Iran

Japan ‘strongly condemns’ Israel’s attack on Iran
Updated 13 June 2025
Follow

Japan ‘strongly condemns’ Israel’s attack on Iran

Japan ‘strongly condemns’ Israel’s attack on Iran

TOKYO: Japan has joined in the condemnation of Israel’s attack on Iran with Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya saying the attack “escalates the situation” in the Middle East, Japan’s Foreign Ministry reported.

“We deeply regret that military force was used despite ongoing diplomatic efforts, including talks between the US and Iran, to achieve a peaceful resolution to the Iranian nuclear issue,” Iwaya said. “Our country strongly condemns this action, which escalates the situation.”

Iwaya emphasized that peace and stability in the Middle East are “extremely important” to Japan and urged all parties involved to exercise maximum restraint.

He called for de-escalation of the situation, adding that the Japanese government will spare no effort to protect Japanese nationals residing in the region.

“We will continue to take all necessary measures to prevent further deterioration of the situation,” he said.

• This article also appears on Arab News Japan


Pakistan, other nuclear states together spent $100 billion on weapons in 2024 — report

Pakistan, other nuclear states together spent $100 billion on weapons in 2024 — report
Updated 13 June 2025
Follow

Pakistan, other nuclear states together spent $100 billion on weapons in 2024 — report

Pakistan, other nuclear states together spent $100 billion on weapons in 2024 — report
  • US spent $56.8 billion in 2024, followed by China at $12.5 billion, says International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
  • ICAN says level of nuclear weapons spending in 2024 by these nine nations could have paid UN budget almost 28 times over

GENEVA: Nuclear-armed states spent more than $100 billion on their atomic arsenals last year, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons said Friday, lamenting the lack of democratic oversight of such spending.

ICAN said Britain, China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia and the United States together spent nearly $10 billion more than in 2023.

The United States spent $56.8 billion in 2024, followed by China at $12.5 billion and Britain at $10.4 billion, ICAN said in its flagship annual report.

Geneva-based ICAN won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize for its key role in drafting the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which took effect in 2021.

Some 69 countries have ratified it to date, four more have directly acceded to the treaty and another 25 have signed it, although none of the nuclear weapons states have come on board.

This year’s report looked at the costs incurred by the countries that host other states’ nuclear weapons.

It said such costs are largely unknown to citizens and legislators alike, thereby avoiding democratic scrutiny.

Although not officially confirmed, the report said Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkiye were hosting US nuclear weapons, citing experts.

Meanwhile Russia claims it has nuclear weapons stationed in Belarus, but some experts are unsure, it added.

The report said there was “little public information” about the costs associated with hosting US nuclear weapons in NATO European countries, citing the cost of facility security, nuclear-capable aircraft and preparation to use such weapons.

“Each NATO nuclear-sharing arrangement is governed by secret agreements,” the report said.

“It’s an affront to democracy that citizens and lawmakers are not allowed to know that nuclear weapons from other countries are based on their soil or how much of their taxes is being spent on them,” said the report’s co-author Alicia Sanders-Zakre.

Eight countries openly possess nuclear weapons: the United States, Russia, Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan and North Korea.

Israel is widely assumed to have nuclear weapons, although it has never officially acknowledged this.

ICAN said the level of nuclear weapons spending in 2024 by these nine nations could have paid the UN budget almost 28 times over.

“The problem of nuclear weapons is one that can be solved, and doing so means understanding the vested interests fiercely defending the option for nine countries to indiscriminately murder civilians,” said ICAN’s program coordinator Susi Snyder.

The private sector earned at least $42.5 billion from their nuclear weapons contracts in 2024 alone, the report said.

There are at least $463 billion in ongoing nuclear weapons contracts, some of which do not expire for decades, and last year, at least $20 billion in new nuclear weapon contracts were awarded, it added.

“Many of the companies that benefited from this largesse invested heavily in lobbying governments, spending $128 million on those efforts in the United States and France, the two countries for which data is available,” ICAN said.

Standard nuclear doctrine — developed during the Cold War between superpowers the United States and the Soviet Union — is based on the assumption that such weapons will never have to be used because their impact is so devastating, and because nuclear retaliation would probably bring similar destruction on the original attacker.


Philippines’ former leader Duterte seeks interim release from ICC

Philippines’ former leader Duterte seeks interim release from ICC
Updated 13 June 2025
Follow

Philippines’ former leader Duterte seeks interim release from ICC

Philippines’ former leader Duterte seeks interim release from ICC
  • Duterte stands accused of crimes against humanity over his years-long campaign against drug users and dealers
  • International Criminal Court prosecutors have agreed not to oppose the request, according to the filing

MANILA: Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte’s defense team at the International Criminal Court has filed a motion for his interim release to an unnamed country, stating the prosecution would not object.

The 80-year-old stands accused of crimes against humanity over his years-long campaign against drug users and dealers that rights groups say killed thousands.

In a filing posted to the court’s website late Thursday, defense lawyers said the involved country – the name of which was redacted – had expressed its “principled agreement to receive Mr. Duterte onto its territory.”

ICC prosecutors have agreed not to oppose the request, according to the filing, which said discussions about an interim release had been under way since Duterte’s first court appearance at The Hague on March 14.

“The Prosecution has confirmed its non-opposition to interim release to (REDACTED) (REDACTED) State Party” as long as certain conditions were met, the filing reads.

An annex spelling out the conditions for Duterte’s release was not publicly available, but the defense team’s filing noted that the octogenarian posed no flight risk and cited humanitarian concerns around his age.

Lawyers representing relatives of those killed in Duterte’s drug war condemned the application for release, citing threats made against victims’ families, and saying they had legal avenues to oppose it.

“There is still a procedure within the ICC that requires the prosecution to comment and the ICC Pre Trial Chamber (PTC) to decide on the application for provisional release,” lawyer Neri Colmenares said in a statement.

In an interview with local radio, lawyer Kristina Conti said she believed it was “50-50” the former president would be released.

“I hope the (drug war) victims can weigh in but that would be difficult if (the release is based on) humanitarian grounds, and he is reportedly sick,” she said.

Duterte was arrested in Manila on March 11, flown to the Netherlands that same night and has been held at the ICC’s detention unit at Scheveningen Prison since.

ICC deputy prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang is currently overseeing the case against Duterte after Karim Khan stepped aside during an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct.

Requests for comment sent to the ICC prosecutor’s office were not immediately returned.