Trump Approved Nvidia Chip Crackdown Three Times, but Commerce Secretary Lutnick Stalled It, Axios Reports

President Donald Trump approved a crackdown on companies suspected of diverting Nvidia’s advanced AI chips to China three times this year, but Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick repeatedly stalled the restrictions, Axios reported Wednesday, citing six senior sources familiar with the discussions. ⠀ At a November 5 White House Situation Room meeting, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent challenged Lutnick over his department’s inaction, particularly its failure to blacklist Nvidia customer Megaspeed. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer also supported stronger export controls, according to the report. ⠀ Lutnick said he needed to check with the president. The officials then went to the Oval Office, where Trump called Elon Musk. Musk reportedly backed the restrictions, while Lutnick warned they would start a trade war with China. Trump sided with the other officials and said: “Let’s get it done.” ⠀ But the order was still not implemented. Axios said Lutnick proposed developing further options after the meeting, despite Trump’s earlier approvals in May and August. Sources accused the Commerce Department of repeatedly holding up action. ⠀ At the center of the dispute is Megaspeed, a Singapore-based company suspected of helping channel restricted Nvidia chips to China. U.S. officials have pressed for its inclusion on the Commerce Department’s Entity List, which imposes export licensing restrictions, but the company remains off the list. ⠀ The Commerce Department denied Axios’s account that Bessent confronted Lutnick and did not immediately comment on the other allegations. Separately, Democratic Senator Michael Bennet demanded an explanation of the government’s response to Megaspeed in a letter on Wednesday. ⠀ Trump’s administration has also permitted sales of certain Nvidia H200 chips to China, making the dispute partly about the difference between authorized exports and suspected efforts to evade restrictions.