Bessent Blames Lutnick for Chip Export Fiasco
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent shifts blame to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over Megaspeed export controls.
2 min read
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent shifted blame onto Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick Friday for failing to blacklist Megaspeed, the company at the center of the scandal involving former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and his alleged affair with a suspected Chinese intelligence asset.
Export Control Responsibility Falls on Commerce
While speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Bessent said the U.S. Trade Representative and the Departments of the Treasury, War, and State all supported placing Megaspeed on the Entity List. The list is a trade blacklist for foreign businesses, research institutions, government organizations, and individuals considered at risk of involvement in activities contrary to U.S. national security or foreign policy interests.
However, Bessent said Lutnick’s Department of Commerce has the final say over who joins the list, adding that “you will have to ask them about their internal process.”
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent blames Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over Nvidia chip mess: "Treasury, War, USTR and State were in favor of putting Megaspeed on the entity list for months." https://t.co/0BTlHymwUY
The interview followed an Axios report that Bessent had asked Lutnick why he hesitated to place export controls on businesses like Megaspeed, which had shipped Nvidia’s advanced AI chips to China.
A Commerce Department spokesperson denied that the conversation took place. However, Bessent said that “We don’t repeat conversations in the Situation Room,” CNBC reported.
“I am frustrated when President Trump made it very clear that China should not receive any Nvidia chips above H100S,” Bessent said, regarding potential delays in export controls. He added that “any leakage is very frustrating” because it “hurts our great companies in the AI race [and] gives the Chinese an advantage.”
Controversy Over Chip Leaks
The controversy erupted after reports emerged that Huang had been shipping chips to China following an alleged romantic relationship with Alice Huang, the former CEO of Singaporean tech company Megaspeed, who has allegedly doubled as a spy for China.
Alice allegedly used her ties with Huang to help move at least $7.5 billion worth of Nvidia chips to Chinese tech firms since 2023, The Information reported.
When asked whether the processors had made it to China through Megaspeed, Bessent said, “I think that there is a lot of leakage in the system, and we are constantly working to close that down.”
“The story has been thus far on Jensen Huang’s personal foibles,” Bessent continued on CNBC. “The real story here should be: Did Nvidia know their client, and was there a robust effort at Nvidia to make sure that there was no leakage and that they were selling to what were obviously pass-through shell companies?”
The Departments of the Treasury and Commerce, as well as the White House, did not respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.
Source: Daily Caller
