Trump-Lutnick Ties to Huang Slowed Nvidia China Export Curbs

Trump's and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's close personal ties to Nvidia's Jensen Huang made department officials wary of aggressive moves against the chipmaker, the New York Times reports, adding a political layer to the mounting paper trail around Nvidia's China sales.

The sharpest scene is inside the White House. In a Situation Room meeting on Thursday, Nov. 5, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pressed Lutnick on why Megaspeed International, the Singapore-based firm suspected of funneling Nvidia's most advanced AI chips to Chinese entities, had not been sanctioned. "How come Megaspeed isn't on the entities list?" Bessent asked. People briefed on the exchange said Lutnick initially stammered before replying: "I don't know. I'll look into it."

The pattern is quantifiable. Commerce has not added a single company to its Entity List in more than a year, according to a review of the Federal Register, despite what national security officials describe as mounting pressure. Lutnick was also briefed months ago on intelligence concerns about Huang's relationship with Alice Huang, a Megaspeed executive the intelligence community suspected of being a Chinese spy. Remote access to Nvidia chips sitting in regional data centers, the loophole a seven-country rule would try to close, remains unresolved.

Senior White House officials are now discussing whether Lutnick should be pushed out, as Senate Banking moves to compel Lutnick and Huang to testify.