The Trump administration is further expanding the restrictions on Chinese phone maker Huawei, making it more difficult for the company to obtain chips for its devices. And a temporary general license offering a reissue for Huawei customers has now expired and will not be renewed, making it harder for older Huawei devices to receive Google updates from Google.
The U.S. Commerce Department said on Monday that it will “critically allow ongoing security investigations to maintain the integrity and reliability of existing and currently fully operational networks and equipment” by introducing a limited permanent authorization for Huawei entities. In addition to allowing Huawei devices sold before May 16, 2019, receiving Android updates, the temporary license covers many rural telecommunications companies that used Huawei devices. Those companies will now have to apply for licenses for previously authorized transactions, according to a Reuters report.
“Because we have restricted access to U.S. technology, Huawei and its affiliates have worked through third parties to exploit U.S. technology in a manner that undermines U.S. national security and foreign policy interests,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement. statement Monday.
The Trump administration placed Huawei and 114 of its affiliates on its Entity List in May 2019, meaning that U.S. companies could not sell technology to the company without the explicit approval of the U.S. government. The president later extended the ban until 2021, citing the International Act of Emergency Economic Powers Act to justify it. The order prevented US companies like Google from doing business with Huawei, and prevented Huawei from getting an Android license and keeping Google apps away from Huawei devices.
Then in May, the Department of Commerce published a modified export rule to block shipments of semiconductors to Huawei to “strategically focus on Huawei’s purchases of semiconductors that are the direct product of certain U.S. software and technology.”
That rule prevented foreign semiconductor manufacturers using American software and technology in their operations from shipping their products to Huawei, unless they first obtained a license from the US.
Huawei said earlier this month that it was discontinuing processor chips due to U.S. sanctions, and as of September, the company will no longer be able to make its own Kirin chipsets due to ongoing economic pressure.
The administration said it added 38 Huawei branches in 21 countries to its blacklist, bringing the total to 152 branches.
