New turn in Nvidia chip dispute as Treasury names Commerce

Megaspeed is a Singapore company. Some persons think that it moves Nvidia chips to China, and Axios reports that US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick resisted steps against it.

On Friday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that Commerce is the US department that imposes the entity list. The list names restricted businesses. Bessent also told CNBC that the Treasury, Defense and State departments and the US Trade Representative wanted Megaspeed on it for months. CNBC also reports that Cantor Fitzgerald, the firm of the sons of Lutnick, cut its Nvidia shares by almost 50%.

What is new

Axios reports that Lutnick resisted White House and intelligence officials again and again. They wanted steps against Megaspeed. On 5 November, President Donald Trump approved new export limits on such companies for the 3rd time.

The numbers

CNBC counted the shares from official documents that Cantor filed, from September 2025 to March 2026. A Cantor spokesperson told CNBC that its Nvidia positions were small and came from client swap trades.

What is not known

CNBC found no sign that the sons knew of the intelligence concerns. It found no sign that the share cut was linked to them, or that business ties changed the decisions of Lutnick. Ethics expert Richard Painter told CNBC that there is no proof. A White House official told Reuters that Trump has complete confidence in Lutnick.

Insight: One office holds the list and takes the blame

Megaspeed bought more than $4.8 billion of Nvidia chips in 2 years. Bessent tells that Commerce imposes the entity list, and 4 other bodies wanted Megaspeed on it. This reads as a fight about who takes the blame, and the Senate testimony of Lutnick on 10 December is the next test. One office can set how far export rules go.