China’s Nvidia investigation is an escalation in the US trade war: expert

Nvidia (NVDA) shares are trading lower after news that China has launched an antitrust investigation into the artificial intelligence (AI) chip maker. The company is also facing a US antitrust investigation. Daniel Newman, CEO of Futurum Group, joins Morning Brief with Seana Smith and Brad Smith to discuss his take on the investigation and what it means for Nvidia and U.S.-China trade relations.

“No one should be surprised to hear about an ongoing series of investigations into Nvidia, particularly from China,” says Newman, explaining that there are “two sides” to it: “the ongoing microaggressions that exist between Chinese and US companies” and “ “China is (continuing to) struggle to keep up with the most advanced AI chip,” so “they probably want to do what they can to slow down U.S. companies.”

The US has restricted exports of semiconductors to China to minimize China’s access to advanced chips. President-elect Donald Trump has announced he will impose a 60% tariff on Chinese goods.

“I think what we have here is actually more of a macro-geopolitical liability than a real problem, but Nvidia is so successful that they will be investigated by every regulator in the world in the next few years.”

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This post was written by Naomi Buchanan.