Nvidia faces a significant setback due to new trade restrictions preventing the sale of the RTX 4090 in China. This poses a severe blow to the graphics card manufacturer, reshaping its market landscape.
Ban on RTX 4090 Sales in China
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has introduced stringent regulations affecting Nvidia’s operations. On October 17, a new directive was issued, prohibiting the export of several high-performance graphics cards to China, including the RTX 4090. The listed models encompass:
- A100
- A800
- H100
- H800
- L40
- L40S
RTX 4090 (Source: sec.gov)
The regulation has now officially come into effect. In response, Nvidia promptly removed the RTX 4090 listing from its Chinese website. Consequently, the most powerful graphics card available in the Chinese market is now officially the RTX 4080.
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Implications Beyond China
Chinese PC gamers might not face complete desolation yet. Before the export ban, Nvidia seemingly made efforts to bring in as many graphics cards as possible into the country. In other words, the RTX 4090 remains available through third-party sellers, with Nvidia ceasing its direct sales. However, due to the lack of new supply, RTX 4090 models are likely to be offered at exorbitant prices.
RTX 4090 Restriction Extends Beyond China
A closer examination of the U.S. authority’s document reveals that the graphics card embargo extends beyond China. Specifically, it affects country groups D1, D4, and D5, encompassing countries such as:
- Afghanistan
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Bahrain
- Belarus
- Burma
- Cambodia
- Central African Republic
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Cuba
- Cyprus
- Egypt
- Eritrea
- Georgia
- Haiti
- Iran
- Iraq
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- North Korea
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Lebanon
- Libya
- Macau
- Moldova
- Mongolia
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Qatar
- Russia
- Saudi Arabia
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Syria
- Tajikistan
- Turkmenistan
- United Arab Emirates
- Uzbekistan
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
- Yemen
- Zimbabwe
Despite the restrictions applying solely to Nvidia’s high-end graphics chips, the impact is significant. This situation is challenging for the graphics card manufacturer, particularly since Nvidia’s cards are highly favored in large data centers. Moreover, the current trend in artificial intelligence likely only heightens the demand further. Consequently, Nvidia stands to lose substantial revenue due to this change. Conversely, more GPUs might become available for Western markets. Whether this leads to a medium-term decrease in RTX 4090 prices remains uncertain.
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