US Loophole Let China Buy Nvidia Blackwell, Officials Fear
Rendy Andriyanto
Gotrade Team
Reviewed by Gotrade Internal Analyst
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Gotrade News - Trump administration officials worry a US policy loophole let Chinese firms buy Nvidia Blackwell chips. The concern surfaced as Washington moved to tighten export rules on advanced artificial intelligence chips.
At the same time, Nvidia reportedly cleared the big three memory makers to supply HBM4 for its Vera Rubin platform. The mix of policy risk and memory supply news pressured Asian chip stocks in recent trading.
Key Takeaways
A policy loophole may have let Chinese firms buy Nvidia Blackwell chips through overseas subsidiaries.
Nvidia cleared the big three memory makers to supply HBM4 for the Vera Rubin platform.
South Korea's KOSPI slid as much as 5.4% as Asian chip stocks led losses.
Policy Loophole and Tighter Export Rules
According to Seeking Alpha, officials debated whether China tech curbs were loosened more than intended. The gap may have made Blackwell shipments to Chinese firms through third countries effectively legal.
As reported by industry coverage, the Bureau of Industry and Security issued guidance on May 31 to close the gap. Export licenses are now required for advanced chips bound for any entity whose parent is headquartered in China or Macau.
The loophole traces back to May 2025, when the AI Diffusion Rule went unenforced for nearly a year. Chinese firms then routed purchases through subsidiaries in Singapore and Malaysia to avoid license requirements.
One supply-chain source estimated that hundreds of thousands of chips flowed through the gap during that window. Nvidia Nvidia (NVDA) Blackwell and Rubin chips, plus AMD's MI350x, now require licenses for China-based buyers.
According to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, the Vera Rubin platform entered full production as of June 2026. Three memory makers, Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron, were confirmed to supply sixth-generation HBM4 chips.
Supply-chain analysts estimate SK Hynix holds the largest share at roughly 60% to 70% of volume. Samsung takes about 25% to 30%, while Micron (MU) provides the remaining HBM4 allocation.
Per Investing.com, South Korea's KOSPI slid as much as 5.4% in recent trading. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix each fell more than 8% as investors took profits.
Japan's Nikkei 225 eased about 1.25%, with SUMCO and Renesas among the heaviest drags. Investors also watched upcoming US jobs data that could steer technology stocks this week.
The selloff weighed on foundry sentiment, including TSMC (TSM), as money rotated out of technology shares. For investors, export policy risk and memory supply dynamics remain two key factors to track ahead.
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