Deals, More Deals, and Protective Backstops

Mike & Brent dive into the latest geopolitical developments surrounding technology exports and the interplay between leading tech companies and the U.S. Administration.

Specifically, they discuss the latest news regarding U.S. conditions for licensing the export of Nvidia’s H20 chip to China (00:38), the impact of the deal on trade negotiations between the U.S. and the People’s Republic of China (and vice-versa) (04:59), the difficult position companies generally are in regarding export controls due diligence and the multiple potential meanings and consequences regarding public officials’ statements around export controls (16:01), the latest news regarding Intel’s CEO’s interactions with the U.S. Administration and how they illustrate vividly the “whipsaw” effect companies and executives face as geopolitical winds swirl (20:09), the relevance of the “pretend mistake” tactic in dealmaking—or, as Mike referred to it in the context of U.S. export controls, the “revoked forgiveness” tactic (22:40), and, practically speaking, how companies can best anchor themselves amidst the geopolitical storm by designing and implementing a “high probability protocol” to best anticipate core trends in U.S. export controls enforcement and serve as an important compliance backstop (25:36).

They then conclude with another installment of Brent Carlson’s “Managing Up” (26:59).

More about Brent: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brent-carlson-41ba692/

More about Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mhuneke/

Everything you ever wanted to know about the “high probability” standard: www.hugheshubbard.com/fresh-looks