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US Treasury Secretary Besant named Commerce Secretary Lutnick and criticized him for not immediately restricting the flow of Huida chips into China; The Senate asked Jen-Hsun Huang and Lutnick to attend the hearing to clarify national security concerns.
Former CEO of Nvidia (Huida, also translated as Nvidia)Jen-Hsun Huang (Jensen Huang) After his resignation, doubts continued to arise about the national security of chips, leading to a fight between cabinet members of the Trump administration. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant publicly called out the Commerce Department, led by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, for failing to restrict exports of Huida chips to China. At the same time,management committee The Senate Banking Committee asked Lutnick and Huang to attend a hearing next month, and Lutnick agreed to attend.
The Associated Press reported that Besant gave an interview to CNBC on the 13th, emphasizing that the Treasury Department, State Department, Defense Department, and the Office of the US Trade Representative have all advocated for the inclusion of Singapore company MegaSpeed International on the chip export control list for several months. However, the Commerce Department has not taken any action. “The Commerce Department has the power to make the final decision. You have to ask their internal processes.” Besant also emphasized: “My deputy has been pursuing this matter for several months.”
It is rare for Besant to publicly charge the Lutnick-led Commerce Department. The New York Times (NYT) reported that Besant and Lutnick had clashed over megaspeed in the White House Situation Room the previous week, but Besant declared: “We will not repeat the conversation in the Situation Room.”
Reports suggest that MegaSpeed purchased Nvidia’s advanced semiconductor products worth more than 4 billion yuan, which was questioned by the outside world. Chinese companies obtained Nvidia’s high-end chips through MegaSpeed. Later, The New York Times broke the news that Huang Renxun had an extramarital affair with a Chinese spy suspected by the US intelligence agency, that is, MegaSpeed CEO Alice Huang. This became the main reason for Huang Renxun’s resignation. However, the Beijing government completely rejected the spying allegations.
According to Axios, Lutnick has “repeatedly obstructed” Nvidia’s tighter controls on its sales of advanced chips from China. He is now under greater scrutiny because of his close ties to Huang. Two Democrats, including Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon and Representative Richard Neal of Massachusetts, have written to Lutnick demanding that all records related to Nvidia’s chip export decisions be preserved accurately.
US Senator Tim Scott (Republican) of South Carolina also confirmed this in a post on social media
As for Commerce Department spokeswoman Kristen Eichmer, she confirmed to NBC News: “Secretary Lutnick voluntarily agreed to attend the hearing to answer questions from committee members.”
Summary FAQ
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Besant accused the Commerce Department of neglecting its duty to control exports of HUDA chips, saying that the Treasury Department, the State Department, the Defense Department, and the Office of the Trade Representative had long advocated for control of MegaSpeed, but the Commerce Department failed to act in a timely manner.
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According to reports, MegaSpeed purchased more than 4 billion yuan of Nvidia advanced semiconductors. It is suspected that Chinese companies have used it to obtain high-end chips. Therefore, many departments consider it subject to export control.
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The Senate Banking Committee has requested that Huang and Lutnick attend a hearing next month. South Carolina Senator Scott also said that if Huang does not appear voluntarily on December 3, the Senate could issue a subpoena to compel his appearance.
