The U.S. Senate has demanded a detailed accounting from the Commerce Department over its failure to blacklist Megaspeed and enforce restrictions on Nvidia AI chips allegedly diverted to China. Senator Ben Bennet set a Nov 24 deadline for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and other officials to provide answers regarding the status of the Megaspeed probe and the closure of export loopholes in Southeast Asia. The pressure follows reports that Lutnick has repeatedly ignored President Trump’s directives to crack down on the smuggling of advanced chips, including a specific order issued Nov 5 after consultations with Elon Musk.
Internal tensions over the issue culminated in a White House Situation Room meeting where Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confronted Lutnick about why the Singapore-based Megaspeed had not been added to the trade blacklist despite intelligence warnings. Lutnick has reportedly resisted the curbs to avoid escalating the trade war with China, though the Commerce Department disputes portions of the account. The scrutiny is compounded by revelations of a relationship between Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and a suspected Chinese spy employed by Megaspeed, which critics say necessitates more rigorous enforcement of existing export laws.