Trump’s loosening of Nvidia chip sales to China was negotiated in mid-2025 , with reporting indicating the deal was struck around August 2025. Reuters and Fortune both describe Trump defending an arrangement in which Nvidia and AMD would give the U.S. government 15% of China chip-sale revenue after earlier restrictions had been eased that summer.

What happened

  • In April 2025 , the Trump administration had blocked certain advanced chip sales to China.
  • By July 2025 , Nvidia said it had received clearance to resume some shipments.
  • By August 2025 , Trump publicly confirmed the revenue-sharing arrangement and said he had pushed for an even bigger cut before settling on 15%.

The practical answer

If you mean the point when the administration negotiated the loosening , the best-supported answer is summer 2025, especially August 2025.

Context

This was not a single one-day “deal” so much as a series of policy shifts and approvals that culminated in Trump publicly describing the arrangement in August 2025. Reporting later in 2025 and 2026 continued to describe related chip-access decisions as part of that same broader policy opening.

TL;DR: The loosening was negotiated in August 2025 , after earlier April restrictions and July clearance for resumed sales.