Why the Nvidia H200 Tariff and RTX 5070 Ti Exit Mean the End of "Affordable" High-Performance Tech

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US tariffs and Asus cancellations signal a "VRAM-pocalypse," leaving gamers with higher prices and fewer mid-range graphics card options.

The Biden-era "presumption of denial" for high-end AI silicon is officially dead, replaced by a "pay-to-play" model that fills Washington’s coffers. In a rapid-fire series of policy shifts, the Trump administration has greenlit the export of Nvidia’s H200 AI chips to China—only to immediately kneecap the trade with a 25% national security tariff.

The levy, which went into effect January 15, 2026, ensures the U.S. government takes a massive cut from every advanced processor sold to Chinese firms. While Nvidia secured the market access it has spent months lobbying for, the victory is bittersweet. To qualify for export, chips like the H200 must now take a mandatory "detour" from fabrication plants in Taiwan to the United States for third-party testing, a move that triggers the new duty the moment they hit American soil.

“It’s not the highest level, but it’s a very good level, and China wants them, and other people want them, and we’re going to be making 25% of the sale of those chips, basically,” President Donald Trump told reporters during a signing ceremony.

The Cost of Entry

Under the new framework, exporters must navigate a gauntlet of restrictions that prioritize domestic interests. Shipments to China are strictly capped at 50% of U.S. customer volumes, and companies must certify that domestic supply is sufficient before a single H200 leaves for Shanghai.

The Department of Commerce also clarified that while the tariff is targeted, it isn't universal. Exemptions exist for chips imported to build out the U.S. technology supply chain, data centers, and non-data center consumer applications. However, for the AI gold mine that is the Chinese market, the 25% surcharge is non-negotiable.

"The Administration’s critics are unintentionally promoting the interests of foreign competitors on US entity lists," an Nvidia spokesperson said in an email. "America should always want its industry to compete for vetted and approved commercial business, supporting real jobs for real Americans."

Asus Trims the Fat: RTX 5070 Ti Reaches "End of Life"

While the enterprise sector grapples with tariffs, the consumer market is facing a different kind of extinction. Asus has reportedly pulled the plug on the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti and the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB, designating both cards as "End of Life" (EOL).

The culprit isn't a lack of demand, but a crippling global shortage of GDDR7 memory. The 16GB mid-range cards, which require twice the memory modules of their 8GB counterparts, have become economically unviable for board partners as VRAM prices skyrocket. Retailers in Australia and the U.S. report that restocks have effectively vanished, with remaining units seeing massive price hikes—the 5070 Ti has jumped from $730 to over $830 in just two months.

The 8GB Bottleneck

Nvidia is attempting to manage the narrative, acknowledging that "memory supply is constrained" while claiming they continue to ship all SKUs. However, the reality on the ground suggests a pivot toward higher-margin or lower-spec silicon.

Production priority has shifted to the RTX 5060 8GB and 5060 Ti 8GB, which are less susceptible to the RAM crisis. For gamers, this creates a grim "VRAM gap." With the 16GB mid-range cards heading to the scrapheap, the only remaining high-capacity options are the flagship RTX 5080 and 5090, both of which remain locked behind four-figure price tags and artificial scarcity.

The rumored RTX 50 Super series refresh, which many hoped would stabilize the market at CES 2026, has been postponed indefinitely. Between 25% "government cuts" on AI chips and the quiet death of high-VRAM gaming cards, Nvidia's 2026 is shaping up to be a year of high prices and hard limits.