"Trump Bought Nvidia Shares Before Easing U.S. Semiconductor Export Controls"

"Nvidia shares rose shortly after Trump bought the stock"

U.S. President Donald Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump has been accused of buying shares in Nvidia, a leading AI semiconductor company, after easing export controls on advanced AI chips last year.

On November 13 (local time), the British newspaper The Guardian reported that Trump bought Nvidia shares shortly before scrapping, in May last year, regulations introduced by former President Joe Biden’s administration to control exports of advanced semiconductors to countries such as China that are not U.S. allies or partners.

The Guardian cited the anti-corruption group Diklaptokeurasi, which said Trump bought between $1 million and $5 million worth of Nvidia shares alone just days before repealing the policy—equivalent to approximately KRW 1.33 billion to KRW 6.68 billion.

Trump also reportedly bought shares in other information technology (IT) companies, including Apple, Meta and Microsoft.

In January last year, the Biden administration had established a system for controlling AI semiconductor exports.

The system divided countries around the world into categories: allies and partners, such as South Korea; other countries; and countries of concern, such as China, Russia and North Korea. It applied different export controls on AI semiconductors according to each category.

The Trump administration repealed the rules, saying they hindered U.S. innovation and imposed excessive regulatory burdens on businesses.

The Guardian reported: "Had the AI Diffusion Framework been implemented, Nvidia would have faced restrictions on selling its products in China, one of its largest markets. Nvidia's share price rose shortly after Trump announced the rules' repeal and after he bought the shares."

The Guardian also reported that Trump bought Nvidia shares at least three times after announcing in December 2025 that he would allow the company to sell H200 chips to China.

Trump is also embroiled in controversy over allegations that he turned a blind eye to former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who is suspected of having an affair with Ellis Huang, who has been accused of spying for China.

Jensen Huang is suspected of using Ellis Huang, who is suspected of spying for China, to facilitate large-scale exports of Nvidia's advanced semiconductors to China, or of leaking Nvidia's trade secrets or U.S. state secrets.

The Democratic Party has begun proceedings to formally investigate allegations of collusion between Trump and Jensen Huang, as well as the consequences of such alleged ties.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.