Treasury Secretary Blames Commerce Department for Missed Blacklist of Megaspeed

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Commerce Department did not place Singapore company Megaspeed on the Washington trade blacklist, despite support from Treasury, the Defense Department, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office and the State Department for months.

Speaking on CNBC, Bessent said, "> But Commerce has the pen. You will have to ask them about their internal processes," and added that President Donald Trump had made clear that China should not receive Nvidia chips above the H100 model.

He described the leakage of chips as "very frustrating" because it harms U.S. companies and gives China an advantage in the AI race.

Megaspeed is under investigation for allegedly helping Chinese firms evade U.S. export controls by purchasing Nvidia chips for data centers in Southeast Asia and routing them to China, with reported sales exceeding $4 billion over two years.

The scandal intensified after former Megaspeed director Alice Huang was identified in U.S. media as an alleged Chinese intelligence asset linked to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who resigned following a personal misconduct admission.

Bessent said media coverage had focused on Huang’s private life rather than the core issue, stating, "> The story thus far has been on Jensen Huang's personal foibles. The real story here should be: Did Nvidia know their client, and was there a robust effort at Nvidia to make sure that there was no leakage?" He called for accountability within Nvidia and noted that the administration is working to close gaps that allow such leakage.