Lutnick reportedly agrees to testify Dec. 10 as Bessent faults Commerce

The short version

• Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has agreed to testify before the Senate Banking Committee on Dec. 10, according to a U.S. official.[CBS News]
• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent blamed Commerce for failing to properly oversee high-spec Nvidia chip exports and said he was frustrated by delays in listing Megaspeed.[BBC News]
• GOP Sen. Jim Banks said Commerce appeared to use loopholes for some chip sales, while Bessent said Commerce controls the Megaspeed listing process.[CBS News]
• Bessent also questioned whether Nvidia knew its client and enforced safeguards against leakage; these are his questions, not findings.[BBC News]

Key facts

• Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has agreed to testify before the Senate Banking Committee on Dec. 10, according to a U.S. official.[CBS News]
• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent blamed the Commerce Department, run by Howard Lutnick, for failing to properly oversee the export of high-spec Nvidia chips.[BBC News]
• GOP Sen. Jim Banks said the Department of Commerce appeared to have used loopholes to allow some chip sales to occur.[CBS News]
• Bessent said the Treasury, War Department, U.S. Trade Representative and State favored placing Megaspeed on the Entity List for months, but Commerce controls the process.[CBS News]
• Bessent said he was frustrated by delays in putting Megaspeed on the export control list and by reports of AI chip leakage into China.[BBC News]
• Bessent questioned whether Nvidia knew its client and whether it made a robust effort to prevent leakage to pass-through shell companies.[BBC News]

Sources

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.

• Lutnick agrees to testify as Bessent blames him for chip salesCBS News - US
• Bessent blames Lutnick's Commerce Department for failing to block MegaspeedBBC News - Business