Some Huawei suppliers get US approval to restart sales to blacklisted firm
Huawei
The Trump administration on Wednesday gaveHuaweiits second reprieve this week, allowingsomesupplierstorestartsalesto the Chinese telecoms giant after it was placed on a trade blacklist over national security concerns six months ago.
The Commerce Department said it has begun issuing licenses forsomecompanies to sell goods toHuawei, expanding the company's supplier base and providing long-awaited clarity to the industry that once sold it billions of dollars worth of goods.
It was not immediately clear which products had been approved for sale to the world's top telecommunications equipment maker. ButHuaweiTechnologies Co Ltd, also the second-largest smartphone maker, has been anxiously awaiting a license for Alphabet Inc's Google to supply its mobile services to new models. Google declined to comment.
AUSofficial said of roughly 300 license requests, about half have been processed. Roughly half of those – or one-quarter of the total – have been approved and the rest have been denied.
A different person familiar with the process added thatsomelicenses forsalesof cell phone components and non-electronic components were approved.
"The Department is issuing these narrow licenses to authorize limited and specific activities which do not pose a significant risk to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States," the Commerce Department said in a statement, without providing further detail.
The move came after the Commerce Department renewed the so-called temporary general license for the company for a third time on Monday, extending permission forHuaweito engage in limited transactions to assistUSrural network operators.
The goodwill gestures come as the Trump administration is working to sign a phase one trade deal with China to end a tit-for-tat trade war that has roiled markets and hit global growth.
Many China hawks have voiced fears that the administration could relax sanctions onHuaweito appease Beijing and score a win on trade.
Republican Senator Marco Rubio said in a statement the company "poses a clear and growing threat to the economic and national security" of the United States and its allies.
"I strongly believe it's against America's national security interest to grant licenses forUSexports that sustain or strengthenHuawei," he said, adding that the Commerce Department should inform lawmakers of what licenses were given.
But the Semiconductor Industry Association, a trade group, welcomed the Commerce Department's announcement, sayingsalesof the non-sensitive items help ensure the competitiveness ofUSchipmakers, "which is essential to national security."
"We hope licenseapprovals continue to proceed in an appropriate and timely manner," the group added.
The United States has pending cases againstHuaweifor allegedly stealing American intellectual property and violating Iran sanctions. The administration has also lobbiedUSallies to keepHuaweiout of next-generation 5G telecommunications infrastructure.Huaweidenied the allegations.
The Trump administration putHuaweion a trade blacklist, citing national security concerns in May after trade talks broke down. Companies on the list are not allowed to receive shipments ofUSgoods without a special license from the Commerce Department.
But in June,USPresident Donald Trump saidsomesaleswould be allowed to the company, andUSofficials urgedfirms to apply for licenses, noting that they would be granted in cases where the items were readily available and did not compromise national security.
But until Wednesday, there had been no responses on the license requests.
Despite the good news, plenty of headwinds remain forHuawei, which is still awaiting rules from the Commerce Department that are expected to bar them from theUStelecoms network.
"The White House isn't ready to pull the plug onHuaweibecause that would do almost as much harm toUScompanies," said James Lewis, a technology expert with the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. "But they're keeping it in reserve," he added.