Technology and Scienceupdated 13m ago2 min read
Archive photo · 6 February 2025Scott Bessent Blames Howard Lutnick’s Commerce Department for Megaspeed Export Delays
10 Western Mainstream1 Asian1 West AsianPhoto: United States Department of the Treasury / US federal government, Public domain · Cropped for layout
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accuses Commerce Department (Howard Lutnick) of delaying Megaspeed blacklist. Bessent says other agencies urged blacklisting Megaspeed, but Commerce held the pen.
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Bessent blames Commerce
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent blamed the Commerce Department, led by Howard Lutnick, for failing to impose export restrictions on Megaspeed, a company at the center of a widening Nvidia scandal.
“We don’t repeat conversations in the Situation Room.”
Bessent told CNBC that the departments of Treasury, Defense and State and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative had supported placing Megaspeed on the entity list for months, but that Commerce was responsible for implementing the restrictions.
Bessent said he was frustrated by delays in enforcing President Donald Trump’s restrictions on chip exports to China, adding that “any leakage is very frustrating” because it “hurts our great companies in the AI race.”
Bessent also declined to confirm reported tensions with Lutnick, saying, “We don’t repeat conversations in the Situation Room.”
Testimony and political pressure
Howard Lutnick agreed to testify before the Senate Banking Committee on Dec. 10, according to a U.S. official, as lawmakers pressed for answers about Commerce’s role in allowing Nvidia to export advanced AI chips.
Bessent told CNBC that “Commerce has the pen,” and he said he was frustrated by delays in putting Megaspeed on the export control list and reports of leakage of AI chips into China.
CNN reported that some Trump advisers were discussing whether Lutnick should be dismissed, while the White House said Trump “maintains complete confidence in the secretary and his ability to carry out the position as the most transformative Commerce Secretary in modern history.”
Republican Senator Tim Scott posted on X that “Recent reports raise serious concerns about our national security and the protection of sensitive US technology,” and he called for Lutnick to explain Commerce’s actions.
Nvidia, leakage, and next steps
Bessent argued that the “real story” involved Nvidia’s own due diligence, saying, “Did Nvidia know their client, and was there a robust effort at Nvidia to make sure that there was no leakage.”
Bessent said he believed Nvidia was selling to “what were obviously pass-through shell companies,” and he added, “It’s important that anyone at the company there be held accountable for that.”
The BBC reported that Megaspeed had been probed by US government agencies over suspicions it had been smuggling Nvidia’s advanced AI chips into China, but that it was not on a list of firms that US companies are prevented from working with.
The BBC also reported that other congressional committees asked Lutnick and the Commerce Department to keep all records relating to Nvidia and Jensen Huang, while Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard E. Neal and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden said a 25% tariff was imposed on H200 chips under a section of the Trade Act.