Bessent told CNBC on Friday that his department, along with others in the government, has long advocated restrictions on Singapore-based Megaspeed, which is at the center of the spying and sex scandal involving Jensen Huang.
Asked why no restrictions had been imposed, Bessent replied that the Commerce Department, under Commerce Secretary Lutnick, was responsible.
So you can ask them about their internal processes.
Jensen Huang was fired on Thursday, partly because of an affair with businesswoman Alice Huang, to whom he is not related despite their shared surname.
Chinese spy
Alice Huang, in turn, has had strong ties to Megaspeed, which is said to have imported large quantities of technology from Nvidia.
According to several media reports, there are suspicions that Alice Huang is a spy working on behalf of the Chinese government.
According to the news site Axios, Howard Lutnick has “repeatedly opposed” measures targeting companies suspected of funneling Nvidia’s advanced AI chips to China.
“Feeling frustrated”
According to Scott Bessent, the transfer of advanced technology to China is harming “our great companies in the AI race”.
He now says that the US Treasury, Defense and State Departments, among others, “have been advocating for months to put Megaspeed on the sanctions list”.
Asked how he feels about the delays in export controls, he replies:
I feel frustrated, especially since President Trump has made it very clear that China will not be allowed to take advantage of any Nvidia chips that are more advanced than the H100 model.
What do you think?