WORLD · TECHNOLOGY · NOV 13, 6:54 PM ET

Bessent blames U.S. Commerce Department for not restricting Nvidia chip exports to China

Reported by 28 outlets in the past day, including CNBC, South China Morning Post, The New York Times.

1What happened

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday blamed the Commerce Department, led by Howard Lutnick, for delaying the blacklisting of Megaspeed, an Nvidia customer suspected of diverting advanced AI chips to China, days before U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet in Shenzhen. South China Morning Post ↗

2Compared to what

America’s great building booms, compared

At an estimated 3.6% of the economy a year, the AI build-out is larger than the railroad boom and more than three times the highway program. AI spending is an estimate. Source: Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, Sept. 23, 2026

3Why it reaches you

U.S. national debt: $40.61 trillion (+$437 billion since Sep 30)

4What’s next

China could retaliate with tighter rare earth export controls if Washington further restricts chip sales in the wake of the Nvidia saga, Chinese analysts say, though they expect broader U.S.-China trade talks to remain on track ahead of a planned meeting between the two countries’ leaders next week. South China Morning Post ↗

5Also reported

The Republican-led Congress wants to see Jensen Huang in Washington before Democrats take control in January. CNBC ↗