Lutnick Accused of Stalling Trump-Ordered Crackdown on Nvidia Chips Reaching China

By Sarah Collins | November 13, 2026

WASHINGTON — Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is at the center of a growing rift inside the Trump administration over advanced American computer chips reaching China, after a new report said he repeatedly stalled a crackdown that President Donald Trump approved three times. Axios reported on Wednesday, November 11, that Trump gave the go-ahead in May, in August, and again on Thursday, November 5 — yet the restrictions have still not been put in place. The Commerce Department, which Lutnick leads, is the agency responsible for enforcing United States export controls on sensitive technology. The report drew on interviews with six senior sources briefed on the discussions.

## A Meeting in the Situation Room

According to Axios, the latest approval came at a White House Situation Room meeting on November 5 attended by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Lutnick. Bessent confronted Lutnick about resistance inside the Commerce Department to carrying out the export controls, the report said. Lutnick appeared to agree but said he needed to check with Trump first. Trump then settled the matter, telling officials, "Let's get it done," according to the report. But once the meeting ended, Lutnick reportedly offered only to work up some options and return — which, according to a source cited in the report, has still not happened.

Lutnick warned during the discussions that moving against the companies would start a trade war with China, according to Axios. A Commerce Department spokesperson, Kristen Eichamer, denied that Bessent confronted Lutnick. The latest approval on November 5 came after Trump consulted billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, the report said. Several lawmakers have said in recent days that they want a tougher stance on chip exports to China and have urged Congress to tighten the restrictions.

## The Megaspeed Connection

At the heart of the dispute is the suspected diversion of Nvidia's powerful artificial intelligence chips to China. The controversy centers on Megaspeed, a Singapore-based data center company, and Alice Huang, one of its executives, whom United States intelligence suspects of being a Chinese agent. The case is tied to reports about Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang's relationship with Alice Huang, which prompted Nvidia's board to launch an investigation. The administration has already faced questions about its approach to chip sales. Last year it eased controls to allow sales of Nvidia's H200 chips — older but still powerful processors — to China in return for a 25 percent tariff. The most advanced chips, in the Blackwell class, remain prohibited for export to China.

The Wall Street Journal reported on November 12 that senior White House aides are discussing whether to remove Lutnick, as blame spreads over the failure to control semiconductor exports. The report said Commerce has not added more than 100 entities, including Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek and memory-chip maker Changxin Memory Technologies, to its sanctions list since October 2025. The department has since rushed a rule applying new export restrictions and licensing requirements to seven countries, including Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore, to block transshipment routes through Southeast Asia.

## What Comes Next

For now, the crackdown Trump approved three times remains unimplemented, and the dispute has become a test of the administration's credibility on China policy. Lawmakers from both parties are pressing for action, and the White House is weighing whether Lutnick can remain in charge of the export-control system he is accused of slowing down. Until the Commerce Department acts, the chips at the center of the controversy will keep moving through the same routes the president has now ordered closed three times.

Sources: Axios (via Reuters), News18, Times Now News, The Wall Street Journal (via Chosun Biz)