HONG KONG (AFP) – Asian stocks swung yesterday after Nvidia’s announcement of new United States (US) licensing rules on shipments of its new chip to China rattled investor confidence already shot by Donald Trump’s sweeping trade war.
After a relatively peaceful couple of days following last week’s tariff-fuelled ructions, investors were once again on the defensive as a standoff between the world’s top economic superpowers shows no signs of abating.
A decision by Hong Kong’s postal service to stop shipping US-bound goods in response to “bullying” levies added to the unease. Chip behemoth Nvidia said on Tuesday that US officials had told the firm it must obtain licences to ship its new H20 semiconductors to China because of concerns they may be used in supercomputers there, adding the rule would last indefinitely.
The move marks the latest salvo in an increasingly nasty row that has seen Washington and Beijing hit each other with eye-watering tariffs, with the technology sector and security at the heart of the issue.
Trump has also kicked off an investigation that could see tariffs imposed on critical minerals such as rare earths that are used in a wide range of products including smartphones, wind turbines and electric vehicle motors. “Silence is never golden – it’s just the calm before the next chaos cycle. And sure enough, the tape just got rattled again,” said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management.
“Nvidia dropped the mic, revealing fresh export curbs on AI gear headed to China. Then came the other shoe: Trump ordering a new probe into tariffs on critical minerals. Boom – just like that, we’re back in whiplash mode.
“Welcome to the new normal: one step forward, two tariff probes back.”
Nvidia said the chip measures would cost it more than USD5 billion. The firm’s shares tumbled around six per cent in after-market trade, and its Asian suppliers were also hit.
