Howard Lutnick Holds Back Trump's Proposed Nvidia China Chip Curbs

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick held back proposed limits President Trump had floated on Nvidia chip sales to China after Oval Office discussions, delaying a policy move with implications for U.S. access to advanced AI hardware.

The pause has sharpened a dispute inside the administration over export-control enforcement. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confronted Lutnick during a two-day Situation Room meeting on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 5-6, over why Megaspeed had not been placed on the Commerce Department's Entity List.

The Entity List is the department's trade blacklist. Placement sharply restricts a foreign company's ability to receive sensitive U.S. technology. Commerce has not added a new name since October 2025, although multiple applications remain under review.

Democratic lawmakers are pressing for tighter limits on advanced AI chip exports and have set Lutnick a Dec. 1 deadline to provide accountability on the issue.

The pause leaves the administration's next move on proposed Nvidia curbs unresolved.