Lutnick Took a Softer Line on Nvidia as Calls for Tougher Controls Grew

What the report says

A New York Times World report says tensions have sharpened inside the Trump administration over whether to tighten U.S. limits on Nvidia’s advanced chips, especially sales linked to Asia and China. The article centers on Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, whose department has drawn criticism from other officials and from some in Congress for taking a relatively soft approach as concerns have grown about chip access through firms such as Megaspeed.

According to the Times, senior officials including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer have pushed for tougher controls. The report says Lutnick has frequently clashed with them and has sometimes delayed or deferred new export rules. It also describes Commerce as giving Nvidia unusual attention, with company matters routed through senior staff and Nvidia’s general counsel having direct access on draft regulations.

The story says the dispute became more visible after the Times reported on Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s chief executive, and a woman U.S. intelligence agencies believe was a Chinese spy, who was linked to Singapore-based Megaspeed. The report says an internal Commerce inquiry into possible chip smuggling was later transferred to the Justice Department. It also says Bessent confronted Lutnick in a White House meeting about Megaspeed, while Commerce denied the exchange and defended its enforcement record. The broader issue matters because U.S. officials see advanced chips as central to the AI competition with China.