Donald Trump’s campaign against Huawei has seemingly continued into his administration’s final days.
The Trump administration notified Huawei suppliers, including chipmaker Intel, that it is revoking certain licenses to sell to the Chinese company and intends to reject dozens of other applications to supply the telecommunications firm, people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.
According to the report, the Semiconductor Industry Association trade group has been informed that a “significant number” of license applications would be denied, as well as the “revocation of at least one previously issued license.” There are roughly 150 applications pending approval, and any companies that are rejected will have a window to appeal the decision.
The action — likely the last against Huawei under President Donald Trump — is the latest in a long-running effort to weaken the world’s largest telecommunications equipment maker, which Washington sees as a national security threat.
Huawei has been on the US “non-entity” list since 2019, a status that prevents US companies from doing business with it without a license. This has limited its access to key technologies such as Google applications and US-manufactured components.
The US initially offered a reprieve to companies, allowing them to work with Huawei through a temporary general license, but the Commerce Department accused the company of exploiting the rules to continue using American technology in its semiconductor design. It tightened those rules in August 2020 and said the temporary general license wouldn’t be extended further.
It’s unclear what stance the incoming Biden administration will take on Huawei, but the US government’s actions are a result of long-standing national security concerns that Huawei has close ties with the Chinese government — a charge the company has repeatedly denied.
