“Howard Lutnick: Inside Cantor Fitzgerald’s CEO’s Surprise Move That’s Shaking Wall Street”

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is once again at the center of Washington-Beijing tensions after a string of high-profile interviews and policy moves that ripple across Wall Street and Silicon Valley. SECTION: AI chip clamp-down Speaking on CNBC’s “Halftime Report,” Lutnick stressed that China will “only get Nvidia’s fourth-best AI chip,” underscoring a tougher export-control regime designed to slow Beijing’s access to cutting-edge processors. The Commerce Department is reportedly finalizing a list of additional accelerators that will require individual licenses, a move analysts say could hit the fast-growing H20 data-center market in Shenzhen and Shanghai. SECTION: August 1 tariff trigger Lutnick also confirmed that a new round of “strategic” tariffs on $38 billion of Chinese electric vehicles, batteries, and green-tech inputs will take effect on 1 August. While rates will vary by product, he emphasized that “tariffs are a tool, not a tax,” hinting that exemptions could be negotiated if Beijing expands market access for U.S. cloud-computing firms. SECTION: Capitol Hill pressure House Science Committee Democrats have summoned Lutnick to testify about staffing shortages at the National Weather Service and potential conflicts of interest stemming from his years atop Cantor Fitzgerald. A July 9 letter asks the secretary to clarify whether warehouse lending reforms favor former Cantor affiliates. SECTION: Renewed scrutiny of Epstein ties A separate Newsweek investigation resurfaced Lutnick’s long-standing real-estate dealings with Jeffrey Epstein; ethics lawyers argue the holdings are now subject to tougher divestiture rules for cabinet officials. The Commerce Department says all required disclosures were filed “on day one,” but activists want a special counsel to review the transactions. SECTION: Market reaction Equities traders initially cheered Lutnick’s hints of a “10-deal pipeline” that could offset tariff drag, pushing the S&P 500 to intraday highs before tech shares reversed on AI-chip headline risk. Goldman Sachs now sees a 0.2 percentage-point drag on 2025 U.S. GDP if Nvidia’s China revenue slips by more than 25 percent. SECTION: Who is Howard Lutnick? • 9/11 survivor who rebuilt Cantor Fitzgerald after the firm lost 658 employees in the World Trade Center attacks. • Major GOP fundraiser and early Trump ally; sworn in as Commerce Secretary in January 2025. • Advocates “reciprocal trade” doctrine: if a country imposes a 25 percent tariff on a U.S. good, Washington should match the levy. WHAT’S NEXT • July 29: House hearing on NWS modernization and Commerce ethics. • August 1: Tariffs activate; expect Chinese counter-measures within 48 hours. • September: Commerce expected to publish the final rule on advanced-node AI accelerator exports. Why it matters: Lutnick’s twin campaigns—restricting AI hardware and weaponizing tariffs—signal a pivotal shift toward tech-centric industrial policy. Multinationals must now price in geopolitical volatility as an everyday cost of doing business, and Howard Lutnick is the man holding the lever.