Why is AMD still unsure whether MI325X can ship to China after receiving U.S. licenses?
Do not treat a U.S. export license as clearance to deliver MI325X in China. AMD moved from MI250 licensing to tighter rules and an MI308 sales halt, then received some MI325 licenses under a case-by-case policy with U.S. conditions. But its August 2026 filing still said it did not know whether China would permit the imports, leaving the actual shipments unresolved.
Trace the chain
MI325 export path
- 1MI250 needs a licenseRegulatory
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 ·
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…
Why it matters here. The MI250 and MI250X notice made a Commerce license a prerequisite for these AMD accelerator exports, so BIS's later rule update could further narrow the technical route available to China-specific parts.
US Export Controls on AMD's AI Chips in China: From the MI250 License to MI308 and MI325X
- 2Rules close the loopholeRegulatory
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 ·
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.
Why it matters here. By replacing the interconnect test with processing-performance and performance-density tests, BIS closed the route China-specific parts relied on, so AMD's MI308 later became subject to a new license requirement.
US Export Controls on AMD's AI Chips in China: From the MI250 License to MI308 and MI325X
- 3MI308 sales are haltedRegulatory
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) ·
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…
Why it matters here. The MI308 halt showed that a new license requirement could stop shipments, so resumed Commerce reviews became necessary before AMD could say shipments would restart.
US Export Controls on AMD's AI Chips in China: From the MI250 License to MI308 and MI325X
- 4Reviews resumeAnnouncement
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 ·
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…
Why it matters here. AMD made MI308 restart contingent on approvals, so the later MI325X policy retained case-by-case review rather than providing general permission to export.
US Export Controls on AMD's AI Chips in China: From the MI250 License to MI308 and MI325X
- 5MI325X enters case reviewRegulatory
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 ·
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.
Why it matters here. Case-by-case review with security conditions allowed approvals for particular customers, so AMD subsequently received some MI325 licenses for China.
US Export Controls on AMD's AI Chips in China: From the MI250 License to MI308 and MI325X
- 6Some MI325 licenses arriveRegulatory
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) ·
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…
Why it matters here. Those licenses covered certain China-based customers under U.S. inspection and round-trip tariff conditions, so AMD's later filing could still leave open whether China would permit the imports.
US Export Controls on AMD's AI Chips in China: From the MI250 License to MI308 and MI325X
- 7China import approval unknownFinancial
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 ·
We do not yet know whether any imports of MI325 products will be allowed into China.
Why it matters here. The available U.S. licenses therefore had not resolved whether MI325 shipments could actually enter China.
US Export Controls on AMD's AI Chips in China: From the MI250 License to MI308 and MI325X
Timelines in this chain
- US Export Controls on AMD's AI Chips in China: From the MI250 License to MI308 and MI325X
- AMD Instinct: From MI300X to Helios and the Gigawatt Deals
- US Export Controls on Nvidia AI Chips to China: A100 to H20 to H200
A chain is written by the editor from entries already published on the timelines above, each of which was read against its source before publication. The chain changes when those entries do. Data and terms.