India's Role in Nvidia Chip Trade with Russia

India's role as a transshipment hub for Nvidia chips to Russia has significantly increased amid Western sanctions.

### India's Emerging Role as a Transshipment Hub for Nvidia Chips to Russia
* 🇮🇳 India is increasingly seen as a **crucial access point** for Nvidia chips destined for Russia, drawing attention from the West, particularly the **US and Europe**.
* 📦 Over the past few years, Western nations have identified various Asian countries as **potential transshipment hubs** for goods manufactured by US companies.
* 💰 A significant factor in this trade surge is India's purchase of Russian oil, allowing Russia to use its **accumulated rupees to buy goods from India**.
* 🔍 The West has intensified efforts to **crack down on other transshipment hubs**, such as the UAE and Turkey, which previously facilitated shipments to Russia.
* 💻 Nvidia chips are integrated into Dell servers, specifically the **PowerEdge XC9 680s**, with Dell halting shipments to Russia since sanctions were imposed.
* ⚖ While India's actions are technically legal since it is not bound by US or European sanctions, tracking the **complex trade cycle of these chips** is challenging.
* 🔗 The US could potentially designate various intermediaries involved in this trade as **culpable**, though placing legal responsibility on specific companies remains **difficult**.

So, is this new that we're starting to see India as a way of accessing Nvidia chips for Russia, for example? So, I think the role of India has certainly come into focus for the West, so for Europe and the US. Um, over the past couple of years, they've been looking at various countries in Asia as transshipment hubs where these goods can essentially come from subsidiaries, vendors, distributors, these goods primarily manufactured by Western companies and primarily US companies, actually. Um, so the role of India is kind of, I guess, the magnitude of the role of India as a hub has certainly become much greater over the last few months. And why have they become such prominent actors in what is basically Russia trying to navigate barriers to accessing US tech? So, there's a lot of reasons. I mean, partly when we talk to officials in the US and Europe about it, one thing they point to is that India has been buying a lot of Russian oil, and Russia has a lot of rupees at its disposal. So, it's been using these repats to its

been spending them essentially buying these goods out of India. So, that's one part, a big part driving this increase of this trade. Another reason is also that, you know, Western officials, the US and Europe, have put a lot of effort into cracking down on other transshipment hubs. For example, the earlier part of last year, there was a big focus in the UAE, Turkey, Central Europe, Central Asia, sorry, as areas where these goods were being sent to Russia. So, I think a large part is the rupees that Russia has top-end spent, but another one is that they're cracking down. The West is cracking down on other areas where these goods were originally shipped from. Now, these Nvidia chips are in Dell servers known as PowerEdge XC9 680s. And Dell has said, Look, since ever the sanctions came into place, they've stopped shipments to Russia. But I'm interested in whether ultimately any of this is actually illegal. Well, technically, it's not illegal in that India is not bound by US or European sanctions. And in terms of the companies, I mean, it's true, you know.

a chip produced by a company in the US. I mean, it's its trade cycle, I guess, around the world. It's impossible, difficult to track because you have vendors, distributors, subsidiaries, all these other kinds of companies or, you know, people, um, that take part in the trade route. So, in terms of legal responsibility, it's almost impossible to place that on someone, certainly in the US, who would be liable, uh, but what could happen exp post is that, um, which has been happening, is that the US could, for example, designate a lot of these companies, a lot of these intermediaries around the world who do participate in the trade of these goods.

Big Take: Indian Firm Sends Nvidia Chips to Russia

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India's Growing Role in Accessing Nvidia Chips for Russia

India's role as a transshipment hub for accessing Nvidia chips for Russia has gained prominence in recent months.

The country has been a key player in facilitating the flow of goods from Western companies to Russia, particularly through its subsidiaries and distributors.

India's significant purchases of Russian oil have also allowed Russia to use repatriated funds for its tech access efforts.

Increasing Trade Between India and Russia

India has become a major source of goods for Russia, driven by the country's spending and Western efforts to crack down on other transshipment hubs.

The focus on areas like the UAE, Turkey, and Central Europe has shifted the flow of goods to Russia.

While Dell has stopped shipments to Russia since the sanctions, India's trade with Russia is technically not illegal, as India is not bound by US or European sanctions.

The trade cycle of a chip produced in the US is difficult to track due to the involvement of various vendors, distributors, and subsidiaries.

This complexity makes it challenging to assign legal responsibility to any one company.

As a result, the US has been designating intermediaries around the world who participate in the trade of these goods.