Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said four government agencies favored blacklisting Singapore-based Megaspeed for months, but the Commerce Department did not act. He said existing export-control powers are sufficient if enforced.
Bessent said Treasury, the Pentagon, the State Department and the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office had favored adding Megaspeed to the Commerce Department’s entity list for months. “But Commerce has the pen,” he said, adding that the department had the authority to blacklist the company.
Lawmakers from both parties criticized Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s oversight of export controls. Senator John Curtis said Lutnick’s reported stalling raised questions about whether the department was acting in the public interest, while Senator Richard Blumenthal called for Lutnick to leave office. Senate Banking Committee chair Tim Scott asked Lutnick to testify.
Megaspeed has drawn scrutiny after links emerged to former executive Alice Huang, whom U.S. authorities suspect of being a Chinese spy. Bessent questioned whether Nvidia had adequately vetted Megaspeed and said people at the company should be held accountable if chips leaked to China. He said the administration was working to stop leakage in the chip export system and that existing authorities “just need to be implemented.”
