13 Months, Zero Entity List Additions: The Lutnick Nvidia Files

By Grace Kim

The U.S. Commerce Department has not added a single company to the Entity List (its main blacklist for foreign firms threatening national security) since October 2025. That's 13 months of silence heading into mid-November 2026, and on November 12 The New York Times and Reuters reported what critics call a softer line on Nvidia from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The claim is a characterization by the reporting. Lutnick has not admitted it, and no official record shows him personally blocking a specific Nvidia export action. The confirmed record does show a policy track where enforcement tools sat unused for more than a year while the suspicion list grew.

What does the reporting actually say?

The core is a gap between words and actions. Lutnick oversees the programs that police chip exports, making him the official most directly accountable for how U.S. semiconductor controls work in practice. At his confirmation hearing, per a report republished by WOL, Lutnick said of China's AI progress: "We need to stop helping them," and added, "I'm going to be very strong on that."

Axios reported a different scene. During a White House meeting, Lutnick appeared to agree with a proposal to restrict companies suspected of diverting Nvidia chips to China — then said, "I need to check with the president." That sentence matters. It suggests the final call sat above Commerce. CBS News ran critics charging Lutnick should have prevented the diversion of sensitive AI chips to China; Bloomberg Law reported the crisis is prompting scrutiny of his role in chip policy.

Nvidia has said it complies with U.S. export laws. No source reviewed finds the company in violation; the focus is suspected diversion by third parties.

The confirmed timeline

• 2024 — The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS, Commerce's export-enforcement unit) opens a probe into whether Nvidia chips sold to Megaspeed, a Singapore-based data-center company, were redirected to China.
• July 2025 — President Trump lifts restrictions on Nvidia's H20 chip sales to China, reportedly after lobbying by CEO Jensen Huang.
• September 2025 — Huang appears with Lutnick at an Nvidia panel and says, per NBC News: "Howard is the person I talk to most in the administration."
• October 2025 — Last Entity List addition before the current drought.
• March (year unconfirmed) — Sen. Elizabeth Warren demands the "immediate pausing" of all export licenses for Nvidia chips bound for China.
• November 12, 2026 — NYT and Reuters publish the "softer line" reporting.

Where each chip stands

Chip	China status
H20	Restrictions lifted July 2025
H200	Reportedly permitted under conditions, per reporting
Blackwell	Barred from direct sale
H100/H200	Subject of Justice Department diversion cases via Malaysia and Thailand

The Blackwell ban is the one clear boundary hawks want to hold — and the diversion cases suggest it leaks through intermediaries.

What's confirmed and what isn't

Confirmed: the 2024 Megaspeed probe, the Entity List drought, the July 2025 H20 lifting, Warren's demands, Nvidia's compliance statement. Reported but unconfirmed: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confronting Lutnick over the failure to blacklist Megaspeed, per Axios. Unproven: that Lutnick personally blocked any specific action, or that he admits any softer line. The Straits Times ran a headline saying the White House weighs a Lutnick ouster; no source shows the president has decided anything.

What does this change for the market?

Nvidia reports earnings November 17, and analysts will raise export compliance. Tougher controls would cut the addressable China market; loose controls carry the cost of hearings and document demands. Warren and Sen. Chris Coons have already asked the administration to preserve documents on Nvidia's China sales — often a first step toward formal oversight. Lutnick has agreed to testify, per NBC News, under bipartisan pressure. Cloud and neocloud providers in Southeast Asia face the first-order risk: reports say the administration is preparing restrictions covering seven Southeast Asian countries, including Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, targeting remote access to Nvidia chips in regional data centers. No rule text has been seen; scope could change. US firms renting foreign GPU capacity should check where their hardware sits — and who else uses it.