Trump’s Pay-For-Play Chips Deal Generates Alarm and Optimism

President Donald Trump’s controversial plan to take a cut of revenue from chip sales to China is leading to concerns that the US government will find new ways to start charging companies for a range of business activities with other countries.

Experts and people familiar with the matter said the surprise deal, in which Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. agreed to pay 15% of their revenues from Chinese AI chip sales to the US, potentially provides a path to enter the Chinese market despite severe export controls, tariffs and other trade barriers.