Lutnick Pushed Weaker Chip Curbs for 7 Countries Amid Cantor Ties to $1 Billion Bitdeer Deal
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Nov 15
Lutnick Pushed Weaker Chip Curbs for 7 Countries Amid Cantor Ties to $1 Billion Bitdeer Deal
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Nov 15
Summary
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick backed a narrower chip-control rule that would cover only seven countries and future shipments, softening a broader crackdown on overseas data centers serving Chinese clients.
The proposed Commerce approach would require notice when Chinese customers use those centers to train AI models but would not automatically require licenses, leaving existing Nvidia-filled facilities largely untouched.
Cantor Fitzgerald, now run by Lutnick’s sons, helped arrange up to $1 billion in financing for Bitdeer, whose Malaysian A201 data center is expected to use advanced Nvidia servers and likely serve Tencent.
The overlap has intensified criticism that Lutnick has favored Nvidia and delayed tougher controls, even as China hawks argue Southeast Asian data centers are a loophole in the U.S. chip ban.
The dispute reflects a wider Trump administration split over whether to protect Nvidia’s overseas sales or close remote-access channels that let Chinese firms tap advanced U.S. AI computing.