U.S. Treasury Secretary frustrated by Commerce Department's inaction on Nvidia chips

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday he was frustrated with the Commerce Department's delay in placing restrictions on Nvidia chip exports to a company led by an alleged Chinese spy.

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U.S. Treasury Scott Bessent, seen in a photo taken in the Oval Office last month, says he's frustrated with the U.S. Commerce Department's delay in placing restrictions on Nvidia chip exports to a company led by an alleged Chinese spy. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday he was frustrated with the U.S. Commerce Department's delay in placing restrictions on Nvidia chip exports to a company led by an alleged Chinese spy.

Bessent said on CNBC that his department, along with the U.S. departments of State and Defence and the U.S. trade representative, were in favour of adding Singapore-based Megaspeed International to an export control list for months but that the Commerce Department was in charge of the matter.

"Commerce has the pen, and you will have to ask them about their internal processes," Bessent said. "My deputy has been pushing this for months."

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