President Donald Trump's global trade policies are forcing America's tech titans to make difficult strategic pivots, with Nvidia and Apple facing particularly severe consequences.
Nvidia, the world's most valuable semiconductor company, disclosed a $5.5 billion financial hit after the Trump administration imposed new export restrictions on its H20 artificial intelligence chips to China. The U.S. government informed Nvidia on April 9 that these chips would require special licenses for Chinese sales "for the indefinite future," citing concerns they could be "used in, or diverted to, a supercomputer in China."
The restrictions represent a significant blow for Nvidia, which generated approximately $17 billion (13% of its total sales) from China in its last fiscal year. The company had specifically designed the H20 chip to comply with previous export controls while maintaining access to the crucial Chinese market. Chinese tech giants including Tencent, Alibaba, and ByteDance had placed approximately $18 billion in H20 orders since January 2025.
Meanwhile, Apple faces mounting pressure from Trump to relocate iPhone manufacturing to the United States. On May 23, Trump threatened to impose a 25% tariff on iPhones not made domestically, stating on social media: "I expect their iPhones that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else."
Analysts widely consider U.S.-based iPhone production impractical in the near term. Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives called it a "fairy tale that is not feasible," estimating that moving all iPhone production to the U.S. would take 5-10 years and potentially increase device prices to as much as $3,500 from their current ~$1,200 price point.
Both companies have announced major U.S. investments in response to Trump's policies. Nvidia committed to building two supercomputer factories in the U.S. as part of a $500 billion investment plan, while Apple pledged to spend $500 billion over four years across nine American states. However, Apple's investment does not include plans to bring iPhone manufacturing stateside.
As trade tensions continue, these tech giants must balance compliance with U.S. policy against maintaining global competitiveness and shareholder value. The outcome of ongoing U.S.-China trade negotiations, currently in a 90-day reduced-tariff period until August 10, will be crucial in determining their long-term strategies.