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Washington bars Nvidia from selling advanced chips to China

Bessent told CNBC that several agencies favoured putting Megaspeed on the US entity list for months as questions grew over Nvidia chips reaching China.

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Key facts

  • The issue matters because Washington has barred Nvidia from selling its advanced chips to China. Officials have examined whether those limits held…
  • Bessent's comments, made in an interview with CNBC, pointed to support inside several agencies for an entity-list designation. He did not say in the…
  • Questions over the chips have centred on whether restricted Nvidia products ended up in China after the sales ban. The company has been prohibited…

The issue matters because Washington has barred Nvidia from selling its advanced chips to China. Officials have examined whether those limits held and whether companies tied to the trade should face tighter controls.

Bessent's comments, made in an interview with CNBC, pointed to support inside several agencies for an entity-list designation. He did not say in the reported remarks whether a listing had been imposed.

Megaspeed said it"designs and maintains its global operational and supply-chain control frameworks to comply with all applicable laws and regulatory regimes".

Questions over the chips have centred on whether restricted Nvidia products ended up in China after the sales ban. The company has been prohibited from selling its advanced chips there under US rules.

Dig deeper

Who is Bessent?

Scott Bessent is the US Treasury secretary. His remarks matter because he signaled support in several agencies for an entity-list designation tied to the chip trade.

What is the entity list?

It is a US Commerce Department list of foreign parties that face strict export licensing, often used to block access to sensitive American technology such as advanced chips.

What is Nvidia?

Nvidia is a US company that designs advanced artificial-intelligence chips, which US rules already bar it from selling to China.

What is Megaspeed?

Megaspeed is a company under scrutiny in the debate over whether restricted Nvidia chips reached China, and it says its supply-chain controls are built to follow applicable laws.

Why does this matter?

Advanced chips are central to AI, and Washington is weighing whether its China sales ban held and whether more companies should face tighter controls.

What happens next?

Officials have looked at tighter controls, including a possible entity-list designation, but the reported remarks did not confirm that a listing had been imposed.

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