Bessent says Commerce Department stalled Megaspeed blacklist despite backing from four agencies
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has blamed the Commerce Department for failing to blacklist Singapore-based cloud computing firm Megaspeed International, which four federal agencies have supported adding to the Entity List.
Bessent laid out his case in a CNBC interview on November 13, 2026, stating that four federal agencies have backed adding Megaspeed to the Entity List for months. The Entity List is the Commerce-run roster of companies that face restrictions on receiving US technology.
Commerce has the pen.
Two days earlier, on November 11, Bessent confronted Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick about Megaspeed's status during a meeting in the White House Situation Room. As of November 13, Megaspeed still did not appear on the Entity List, though investigations into the company are ongoing.
Allegations against Megaspeed
Megaspeed has been under investigation since at least 2025 for allegedly rerouting Nvidia chips to China, sidestepping US restrictions on high-specification models. The firm is suspected of handling more than $4 billion worth of Nvidia chips over a two-year period.
Nvidia placed Megaspeed on its internal block list in June 2025, stopping business with the firm before any formal government action. The administration's position, framed by President Donald Trump, is that China should not receive Nvidia chips more advanced than the H100 level.
Why the Entity List matters
While an internal block list at one company is limited, binding only that company, an Entity List designation applies across all US technology. This is why Bessent and the other agencies want Megaspeed added to it.
Advanced AI chips have become a key pressure point in US-China tech competition, with Washington relying on export controls to limit China's access to powerful hardware used for training large AI models. Megaspeed, based in Singapore, sits in an enforcement gap.
Political implications
For Nvidia, the episode presents a complex situation. The company can point to its June 2025 block list as evidence of early compliance detection. However, Bessent going public puts Lutnick in an uncomfortable position, forcing Commerce to either act on Megaspeed or explain the delay with Congress watching closely.
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