Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick Faces Scrutiny Over China Chip Exports
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick faces bipartisan calls for resignation after allegedly stalling export controls on Nvidia chips diverted to China via a Singaporean firm.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is facing bipartisan scrutiny and calls for his resignation following allegations that he resisted placing stricter export limits on advanced Nvidia AI chips. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent publicly blamed the Commerce Department for failing to add Megaspeed, a Singapore-based data center firm, to the U.S. entity list despite months of support from the Treasury, State, Defense, and the U.S. Trade Representative.
The controversy coincides with the November 13 resignation of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Reports indicate Huang had an affair with Alice Huang, a former Megaspeed executive whom U.S. intelligence alleges was recruited by China's Ministry of State Security. The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into Megaspeed to determine if the company funneled restricted technology to China. In response, Nvidia's independent board hired the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to investigate the matter.
Lawmakers, including Senator Richard Blumenthal, have accused Lutnick of corruption and putting personal profit above public interest. Lutnick has agreed to testify voluntarily before the Senate Banking Committee, while White House officials discuss whether he should be removed from his position. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump is not expected to discuss the Alice Huang case during his upcoming meeting with President Xi Jinping at the APEC forum in Shenzhen, as U.S. officials maintain that national security investigations will not be disclosed to the Chinese government.
