20 experts demand to stop selling Nvidia H20 chip to China

A group of 20 former senior officials and national security experts have written a letter to US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick calling for a renewed ban on Nvidia's H20 sales, despite the Trump administration's recent lifting of the ban.

Experts emphasise that the H20 chip is not outdated. It was designed to pass US export controls, but in inference operations, which are important for accelerating modern AI models, it is capable of showing results higher than H100. The letter argues that the decision to block its sale at the beginning of the year was correct because it is not a matter of trade, but of national security.

Political context: trade vs. security

Two weeks ago, the administration allowed Nvidia to sell H20 to China, citing trade negotiations on rare earth metals as the reason. At the same time, Lutnick stated that H20 is only the "fourth most powerful" chip for AI acceleration. However, the decision caused a wave of criticism: both Democrats and some Republicans condemned the conclusion of security-dubious deals.

What does Nvidia lose?

The H20 ban has already cost the company about $2.5 billion in the first quarter and may cost another $8 billion later. China is a huge AI market (~$50 billion), and Nvidia simply cannot afford to abandon it.

The realities of the modern world: what will win - the desire to make money or to prevent China's military and economic strengthening? We do not know how this situation will affect the further development of history, but we have already found ourselves in a situation where high technology has become a hostage to politics, and the desire to ensure a comfortable old age dominates someone's security.