US Export Controls on AMD's AI Chips in China: From the MI250 License to MI308 and MI325X

Q2 2026 10-Q: six months on, AMD still does not know if China will let MI325 shipments in

AMD's second-quarter 10-Q, filed August 4, repeated the February disclosure word for word: some MI325 export licenses had been granted for certain China-based customers, every unit would first have to be inspected in the United States and pay a 25 percent tariff on the way in, and the company still did not know whether China would allow the imports. No MI325 or MI308 China revenue was called out for the quarter.

• U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission / AMD Form 10-Q · Aug 4, 2026 · We do not yet know whether any imports of MI325 products will be allowed into China.

Editor's note: Hand-checked against the Q2 2026 10-Q (amd-20260627.htm), which repeats the MI325 import uncertainty verbatim.

Q1 2026: China GPU revenue 'not material' as the MI308 orders run off

Data center AI revenue dipped sequentially in the first quarter, which AMD attributed to lower China revenue after the $390 million MI308 quarter, and CFO Jean Hu said China revenue in the period was not material. AMD did not forecast further China GPU sales, leaving the MI325 licenses as an option rather than a plan.

• The Motley Fool (call transcript) · May 6, 2026 · I think if you look at Q1, we did mention Data Center AI was down modest pace sequentially, primarily due to lower China revenue in the quarter.

10-K: the 15 percent is an 'expectation' with no regulation behind it, and could invite litigation

In its annual report AMD disclosed that it had begun MI308 shipments at the end of fiscal 2025, that net export-control charges for the year came to about $440 million after the reversal, and that US officials expected 15 percent of licensed MI308 revenue although no rule establishing the requirement had been published. It warned that any such demand could subject the company to litigation and favour competitors not bound by the arrangement.

• AMD Form 10-K (SEC) · Feb 3, 2026 · U.S. government officials have expressed an expectation that the U.S. government will receive 15% of the revenue generated from licensed MI308 sales to China; however, to date, the U.S. government has not published a regulation establishing such requirement.

Q4 2025: first MI308 revenue, about $390 million, and a $360 million reserve release

AMD's fourth quarter included roughly $390 million of MI308 sales to China that were not in its guidance, filled from orders placed early in 2025, plus the release of about $360 million of the inventory reserves booked in the second quarter. It guided to about $100 million of MI308 revenue in the first quarter of 2026 and nothing beyond, with Su calling China 'a very dynamic situation' and saying MI325 license applications had been submitted.

• AMD Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1 (SEC) · Feb 3, 2026 · In the fourth quarter, AMD benefited from an approximate $360 million release of previously reserved AMD Instinct™ MI308 inventory and related charges. Fourth quarter AMD Instinct MI308 revenue to China was approximately $390 million.
• The Motley Fool (call transcript) · Feb 3, 2026 · We are not forecasting any additional revenue from China just because it's a very dynamic situation.

AMD receives some MI325 licenses for China, with a US inspection and a 25 percent tariff on the round trip

AMD's first-quarter 10-Q disclosed that in February 2026 the US government granted some licenses to ship MI325 products to certain China-based customers under the January policy. Each chip must first pass an inspection in the United States, which makes it subject to a 25 percent tariff on importation for that inspection, and AMD said it did not yet know whether China would allow the imports.

• AMD Form 10-Q (SEC) · May 6, 2026 · In February 2026, the U.S. government granted us some export licenses authorizing us to ship our AMD Instinct MI325 products to certain China-based customers. We do not yet know whether any imports of MI325 products will be allowed into China.

result of BIS moves H200 and MI325X exports to China to case-by-case review with security conditions on US Export Controls on Nvidia AI Chips to China: A100 to H20 to H200.

BIS moves the MI325X, alongside Nvidia's H200, to case-by-case review with security conditions

Following Trump's December 8 decision to allow H200-class sales to approved Chinese customers, BIS revised its licensing policy so that applications for the H200, the AMD MI325X and similar chips are reviewed case by case rather than under a presumption of denial. Applicants must show exports will not shrink capacity available to US customers, that the buyer screens its own customers, and that the chips pass independent third-party testing in the United States.

• Bureau of Industry and Security · Jan 13, 2026 · BIS will now review export license applications for the Nvidia H200, AMD MI325X, and similar chips on a case-by-case basis provided certain security requirements are met.

result of Trump allows H200 sales to approved Chinese customers with a 25 percent cut for the US on US Export Controls on Nvidia AI Chips to China: A100 to H20 to H200.

White House confirms Nvidia and AMD will hand over 15 percent of China chip revenue for their licenses

After the Financial Times reported the arrangement, a White House official confirmed to CBS News that Nvidia and AMD had agreed to pay the US government 15 percent of revenue from H20 and MI308 sales in China as a condition of the export licenses granted the previous week. No regulation was published, a point AMD would later flag to investors.

• CBS News · Aug 11, 2025 · U.S. chipmakers Nvidia and AMD will pay the U.S. government 15% of revenue generated by sales of their AI chips in China, a White House official confirmed to CBS News.

was answered by Six senators urge Trump to reverse AMD and Nvidia China chip arrangement.

Commerce will resume reviewing MI308 licenses; AMD says shipments will restart once approved

The day after Nvidia said it had been assured H20 licenses would be granted, AMD said the Commerce Department would move forward with its MI308 license applications and that it planned to resume shipments as approvals came, praising the administration's trade negotiations. The stock rose more than 6 percent.

• CNBC · Jul 15, 2025 · The company said Tuesday that the U.S. Commerce Department plans to resume reviewing its license applications to send the products to the world's second-largest economy. AMD said it plans to start shipments once those are approved.

result of Nvidia says the US has assured it H20 licenses will be granted and sales to China will resume on US Export Controls on Nvidia AI Chips to China: A100 to H20 to H200.

New license requirement hits the MI308; AMD warns of up to $800 million in charges

A day after Nvidia disclosed the H20 license requirement and a $5.5 billion charge, AMD filed an 8-K saying the same new rule covered exports of its MI308 to China, Hong Kong, Macau and other D:5 countries. It expected up to $800 million of inventory, purchase-commitment and reserve charges, said it would apply for licenses with no assurance of approval, and its shares fell more than 7 percent.

• AMD Form 8-K (SEC) · Apr 16, 2025 · The Export Control applies to the Company’s MI308 products. The Company expects to apply for licenses but there is no assurance that licenses will be granted. The Company expects that the Export Control may result in charges of up to approximately $800 million in inventory, purchase commitments and related reserves.
• CNBC · Apr 16, 2025 · Shares of Advanced Micro Devices closed down more than 7% on Wednesday after the company said it could incur charges of up to $800 million for exporting its MI308 products to China and other countries.

BIS tightens the chip rules, dropping the interconnect test that the China-specific parts relied on

The October 2023 update replaced the interconnect-bandwidth parameter with a total processing performance and performance density test, closing the loophole that Nvidia's A800 and H800 had used, and added a notification requirement for chips just under the line. AMD's MI300 family fell above the new threshold, so any China part would have to be cut down much further.

• Bureau of Industry and Security · Oct 17, 2023 · Based on public comments, recent technological developments, and analysis of the prior rule's national security impact, the AC/S IFR removes 'interconnect bandwidth' as a parameter for identifying restricted chips.

AMD told it needs a license to ship Instinct MI250 GPUs to China

Days after Nvidia disclosed a license requirement for the A100 and H100, AMD confirmed it had received a similar notice covering the Instinct MI250 and MI250X, while the older MI100 was unaffected. AMD said the impact on its data center business would be marginal, since most of its compute GPUs went into US and European supercomputers, and disclosed the requirement in its third-quarter 10-Q.

• Tom's Hardware · Sep 1, 2022 · AMD has notified its Chinese operations that from now on, it will have to obtain an export license from the U.S. Department of Commerce to sell its Instinct MI250 and MI250X compute GPUs to Chinese clients, reports Nikkei citing two sources familiar with the matter. AMD has confirmed to Nikkei that it had received an alert from the DoC about a new export requirement for high-end compute GPUs.
• AMD Form 10-Q (SEC) · Nov 2, 2022 · Further, BIS has issued new requirements that prevent us from shipping MI250 and MI250X integrated circuits to China and Russia without a license, and BIS may possibly issue new licensing requirements in the future.

Commerce puts AMD's China joint-venture partners Sugon and Hygon on the Entity List

The Bureau of Industry and Security added Sugon, the Wuxi Jiangnan Institute of Computing Technology, Higon and the two Chengdu Haiguang companies that AMD had formed with Sugon's THATIC consortium in 2016 to license Zen server-CPU technology. The listing cut the venture off from US technology a week before Trump's G20 meeting with Xi Jinping, and it marked the first time Washington's China controls landed directly on AMD's business.

• Federal Register (Bureau of Industry and Security) · Jun 24, 2019 · Sugon also is, as further described below, the majority owner of Higon, and Higon has ownership interests in Chengdu Haiguang Integrated Circuit and Chengdu Haiguang Microelectronics Technology.