Lutnick agrees to testify as Bessent blames him for chip sales
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has agreed to testify before the Senate Banking Committee on Dec. 10 amid scrutiny over the export of AI chips to China-linked firm Megaspeed International.
The testimony comes after the resignation of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, whose company's powerful AI chips were allegedly directed to China through Megaspeed International. The U.S. government suspects Megaspeed, previously led by Alice Huang, of circumventing export restrictions.
Republican scrutiny
GOP Sen. Jim Banks accused the Commerce Department of using loopholes to allow chip sales despite President Trump's directives. Republicans increasingly demand answers about why Megaspeed wasn't added to the Entity List sooner, which would have restricted its access to advanced technology.
we know that the Department of Commerce, Secretary Lutnick, it appears, used loopholes to allow some of these chip sales to occur even though President Trump has directed his administration and the Department of Commerce not to allow that to happen.
Inter-agency blame
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent placed responsibility for the delay squarely on the Commerce Department, noting that Treasury and other agencies had pushed for restrictions on Megaspeed for months. Commerce has the pen when it comes to adding entities to the restricted list, Bessent told CNBC.
Bessent declined to comment on reported tensions between himself and Lutnick, while the Commerce Department has not responded to requests for comment. The upcoming testimony will likely intensify focus on inter-agency coordination in enforcing export controls.
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