Scott Bessent Says Real Story Is ‘Did Nvidia Know Their Client,’ Not Jensen Huang’s Personal Conduct

• According to Bessent, the central question in the Nvidia export controversy is whether the company knew who its customers were and had adequate controls to prevent restricted chips from reaching unauthorized buyers.
• He added that the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, rather than Treasury’s sanctions office, has authority over export restrictions involving Megaspeed.
• He reiterated the Trump administration’s position that China should not receive Nvidia chips more advanced than the H100.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday that the central question in the controversy over Nvidia’s (NVDA) chip exports to China is whether the company knew who its customers were and took adequate steps to prevent restricted chips from reaching unauthorized buyers, rather than former CEO Jensen Huang’s personal conduct.

“The real story here should be: Did Nvidia know their client, and was there a robust effort at Nvidia to make sure that there was no leakage and that they were selling to what were obviously pass-through shell companies,” Bessent said in an interview with CNBC.

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Bessent said coverage of the controversy had focused too heavily on Huang’s personal life, while the company’s export controls and customer-screening procedures deserved greater scrutiny. He expects Nvidia’s board to examine those issues. “I am sure that the board, now having woken up to what’s going on, is going to do a thorough investigation,” he stated.

Bessent Points To Commerce Department In Megaspeed Export Controls

When asked about reports of tensions with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over why Megaspeed had not been added to the Commerce Department’s entity list, Bessent said federal agencies had coordinated on the issue. He said the Treasury, the State Department and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representatives had supported the move for months.

He added that the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has limited authority over export decisions. “OFAC has no control over things like this in terms of exports. This is the BIS decision,” Bessent stated, referring to the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS).

“Treasury and my deputies have been pushing for this for months,” he said.

Bessent Says H100 Sales Would Give China Little Advantage

The Trump administration’s position is that Nvidia chips more advanced than the H100 should not be exported to China. Bessent reiterated that stance, saying, “China should not receive any Nvidia chips above H100s.” He added that “any leakage is very frustrating.”

“We have all the authorities that we need. They just need to be implemented,” Bessent said, pointing out that the U.S. already has the authority needed to enforce its export restrictions. 

He added that allowing China to buy older H100 chips would not give Beijing a meaningful advantage, saying Huawei can combine its own processors to reach comparable performance, although less efficiently.

NVDA Stock Faces Longest Weekly Losing Streak Since 2012

Bessent’s comments come a day after Nvidia said Huang had resigned as CEO. 

NVDA stock was recovering in the morning trade, up as much as 2.5% and among the top-trending tickers on Stocktwits. Retail sentiment around Nvidia on the platform continued to trend in ‘extremely bullish’ territory over the past day, accompanied by ‘extremely high’ levels of chatter.

Despite the rebound, NVDA stock is still on track to log a sixth consecutive week in the red and mark its longest weekly losing streak since 2012. 

Read also: Tom Lee Says Jensen Huang Exit Doesn’t Change His Bullish Tech Outlook: AVGO, AMD Stocks Lead Chip Rally

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