US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated on Friday that he has supported placing Megaspeed, a data company linked to an alleged Chinese spy, on a trade blacklist for months to prevent Nvidia from exporting advanced semiconductors to Beijing.
The Commerce Department Stalls Blacklist
Bessent explained that the effort has been delayed because the Commerce Department holds jurisdiction over the matter. When questioned about the holdup, he told CNBC that inquiries should be directed to the department regarding its internal procedures.
Situation Room Confrontation
Earlier in the week, Axios reported that Bessent reportedly confronted Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick inside the White House Situation Room over the failure to blacklist the firm. When asked about the reported confrontation during his CNBC interview, the treasury secretary declined to discuss the exchange, stating that conversations held in the Situation Room are not repeated.
