Lutnick said to block Trump's latest Nvidia chip diversion clampdown, Axios reports

For Nvidia, the situation adds more policy uncertainty to a week already marked by its board's investigation, and it keeps China-linked headline risk elevated as a requested House briefing approaches. If enforcement becomes stricter, it could affect sales routed through third-country buyers in Southeast Asia, though the size of those sales is difficult to gauge from publicly available data. Nvidia is among the largest components in the S&P 500, so stock-specific shocks can move the broader index even when most other stocks are gaining. Wall Street rebounded on Monday following the previous week's selloff in AI stocks, but Nvidia declined, indicating its own risks are now partly distinct from the broader AI trade. A visible rift between Bessent and Lutnick also matters beyond semiconductors, as it raises questions about how consistently trade and export policy toward China will be applied.

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Earlier:

• Mizuho's Klein calls Nvidia 'silly cheap' below 10x earnings despite Huang uncertainty
• Morgans' Stickley: S&P 500 up after every midterm since 1950 as Nvidia looks cheap

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The White House wants to stop Nvidia chips from leaking into China, but the agency responsible for enforcement is reportedly the one causing delays.

Summary:

• Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has repeatedly delayed a crackdown on companies suspected of diverting Nvidia chips to China, Axios reported, citing high-level sources
• Trump authorized the crackdown last Thursday, the third time this year, after consulting Elon Musk
• In a Situation Room meeting with Bessent, Hegseth, Greer and Rubio, Bessent confronted Lutnick over his department's resistance to enforcing the controls
• Lutnick appeared to agree but said he needed to check with Trump, the report said
• The report comes days after Nvidia's board opened an independent probe into reports that CEO Jensen Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence effort

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has repeatedly held up President Donald Trump's crackdown on companies suspected of diverting Nvidia's AI chips to China, Axios reported on Wednesday, citing high-level sources. The report reveals a split inside the administration over how hard to enforce export controls. It also comes while Nvidia is already facing heavy China-related scrutiny of its own.

According to Axios, Trump authorized the crackdown last Thursday after consulting Elon Musk. It was the third time this year he has done so. The same day, Lutnick met in the Situation Room with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Bessent challenged Lutnick over his department's resistance to carrying out the controls. Lutnick appeared to agree but said he needed to check with Trump first, the report said.

Lutnick's role matters because enforcement sits with the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security, which licenses chip exports and polices diversion. A delay at Commerce can slow enforcement even after the White House has signed off. Diversion usually happens through buyers in third countries, often in Southeast Asian hubs such as Singapore, who resell restricted chips into China. In June, the bureau moved to close a loophole that may have let overseas units of Chinese companies obtain top-end Nvidia processors, according to Reuters.

The timing is awkward for Nvidia. On November 8, its board opened an independent investigation after reports that chief executive Jensen Huang had been the target of a foreign intelligence effort. Independent directors are leading it, with help from outside counsel. The board said it has no reason to believe national security or company secrets were compromised, and that it still has confidence in Huang. The New York Times reported that Megaspeed, a Singapore-based firm, bought about $4.8 billion of Nvidia chips over two years, although no wrongdoing by the company has been established. Nvidia shares fell about 4% on November 9, the first trading session after the board's announcement.

Three Republican House committee chairs have reportedly asked for a closed-door briefing with Huang on November 18. For investors, the question is whether the Lutnick dispute ends in tougher, faster enforcement or a quieter compromise. Either way, Washington is now testing Nvidia's China exposure from several directions at once.

Ahead:

• Nvidia reports on Tuesday, 17 November, after the US close.
• Nvidia will host a conference call on Tuesday, November 17, at 2 p.m. PT (5 p.m. ET) to discuss its financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2027, which ended October 25, 2026. That's 22:00 GMT. Ahead of the call, Nvidia will provide written commentary from the CFO.