Mobile chip giant Qualcomm has asked the US government to have the smartphone chipset delivered to Huawei, the China-based telecommunications giant. The reason is solid: By cutting back on the company, which makes more smartphones than any other company besides Samsung, from US-based technology companies, the government generates $ 8 billion in revenue each year.
News of the petition was reported by The Wall Street Journal, which saw a Qualcomm presentation explaining its argument to the U.S. government.
According to the Journal, Qualcomm has an interesting angle on its argument: That it is allowed to sell not only smartphone processors, so-called system-on-a-chip (SoC) designs, but also the 5G chipsets that will be needed for next generation cellular networks. The US sanctions against Huawei are based solely on the company’s network power, and not on its smartphone business. That Qualcomm, an American company, let this company have would be particularly beneficial, and may change some thoughts in Washington.
Qualcomm claims in the presentation that the US in effect sends $ 8 billion annually to Chinese companies through its sanctions, and that this is what the US-based companies were doing to protect their government. It also notes that an escalation of sanctions in September will simply drive Huawei to seek out non-US partners who can meet its needs as Chinese companies increase their design and manufacturing capabilities.
“If Qualcomm is subject to licensing but its foreign competitors are not, US government policy will cause a rapid shift in 5G chipset market share in China and beyond,” Qualcomm notes correctly.
“This is an unacceptable outcome for American interests.”
Access with Huawei, Qualcomm
