U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has begun an inter-agency review that could clear the way for the first shipments of Nvidia’s second-most powerful artificial intelligence chips to China, five sources said, following Trump’s pledge to permit the controversial sales.

Trump said earlier this month that he would allow exports of Nvidia’s H200 chips to China, with the U.S. government collecting a 25% fee, arguing the move would help keep American companies ahead of Chinese rivals by reducing demand for domestically produced Chinese chips.

The plan has drawn criticism from China hawks across the U.S. political spectrum, who warn that advanced AI chips could strengthen Beijing’s military capabilities and undermine Washington’s technological edge in artificial intelligence.

Questions have persisted over how quickly the United States would approve such exports and whether Beijing would allow Chinese firms to purchase the chips. According to the sources, the U.S. Commerce Department has now sent license applications for the sales to the State, Energy and Defense Departments for review, triggering a formal inter-agency process that has not previously been reported.

Under U.S. export regulations, those agencies have 30 days to weigh in. One source, an administration official, said the review would be comprehensive and “not some perfunctory box we are checking,” though the final decision ultimately rests with Trump.

The Commerce Department and Nvidia did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A White House spokesperson declined to comment on the review itself but said the Trump administration was “committed to ensuring the dominance of the American tech stack – without compromising on national security.”