Nvidia is reportedly rushing shipments of RTX 4090s to China ahead of expected export restrictions, according to three separate reports. The company's add-in-board (AIB) partners are hard at work producing RTX 4090 products for the Chinese market ahead of Nov. 16. However, it is unclear whether exports of the SKU will actually be restricted.
"Nvidia has been shipping tons of AD102 for [add-in-cards] this week to manufacture as [many] RTX 4090 as possible before the original restriction date of RTX 4090 [exports to] China," wrote @Zed_Wang, a well-known hardware leaker who tends to have accurate information about Nvidia. "It is still unclear whether the restriction will become true or not. But all AICs are at their full power in producing RTX 4090, regardless of that."
BenchLife and MyDrivers report that, based on information from Nvidia's AIB partners, the U.S. government will require an export license to ship RTX 4090s to China starting Nov. 17. This would essentially restrict 4090 sales to the country as the Department of Commerce's (DoC) Bureau of Industry and Security would then review license applications with a presumption of denial. As a result, GPU makers are speeding up production of RTX 4090s for China before the restriction potentially happens.
On Oct. 16, the DoC's Bureau of Industry and Security revealed plans to require Nvidia and other companies to get an export license to ship their A100, A800, H100, H800, L40, L40S, and GeForce RTX 4090 products to China, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam, since their performance levels exceeded certain metrics. That rule was expected to come into effect after a 30-day grace period, on Nov. 17.
But on Oct. 23, the U.S. government notified Nvidia about the immediate enactment of the export rules for A100, A800, H100, H800, and L40S products. The absence of Nvidia's L40 and RTX 4090 from the list stirred controversy. This could mean that the L40 and the RTX 4090 have been removed from the list completely, or it could mean that export restrictions will proceed as planned, taking effect on Nov. 17.
As of writing, Nvidia has not responded to a request for comment. For now it's unclear whether Nvidia and its partners will be able to ship the RTX 4090 to China (and Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Vietnam) after Nov. 17 without an export license.
