US Restricts Chip Sales to Huawei, Raises Tensions with China

The United States has ramped up pressure on leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices, Huawei, by revoking export licenses for Intel and Qualcomm.

 

The move, which denies the company any chance of supplying crucial semiconductors to the Chinese company, will impact Huawei’s ability to get chips for their laptops and phones.

 

The US commerce department confirmed in a report seen by Arbiterz on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, that it had “revoked certain licenses for exports to Huawei” but did not name which US companies would be affected.

 

“We continuously assess how our controls can best protect our national security and foreign policy interests, taking into consideration a constantly changing threat environment and technological landscape,” said a spokesperson for the commerce department.

 

“As part of this process, as we have done in the past, we sometimes revoke export licenses,” the source added.

 

Today, the US has strict limitations on American technology sales to Huawei, with Republican legislators pushing President Biden for a more aggressive approach.

 

While the US in its defence has cited national security concerns, alleging that Huawei assists the Chinese government in global cyberespionage, the Huawei team, when asked about the development, maintains that the claims are untrue.

 

Arbiterz understands that the US government’s recent actions against Huawei stem from concerns about the company’s chip development capabilities.

 

What you should know:

 

Despite extensive export controls implemented in 2022, Huawei in 2023 launched the Mate 60 Pro smartphone, a phone equipped with an advanced chip.

 

Last month, concerns about Huawei’s access to US technology intensified, with Senators Marco Rubio and Elise Stefanik, key Republican figures, pressuring Commerce Secretary, Raimondo, to revoke Huawei’s licenses.

 

This came after reports surfaced of Huawei using Intel chips in their laptops, despite existing restrictions.

 

“This was the right decision, but the licence never should have been granted in the first place,” Senator Rubio told the FT.

Also read: Huawei Mate 30 Pro floors iPhone 11 Pro in new camera test

“The Biden administration needs to be proactive in denying Chinese companies critical technologies, not just reactive when they get called out by lawmakers who actually take the threat seriously.”

 

“It is clear from these trends that Huawei, a blocklisted company that was on the ropes just a few years ago, is making a comeback,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter.

 

After the release of the letter, Intel said it “strictly complies with all the laws and regulations in the countries where we do business.”

 

Sources familiar with the company’s product revealed that Huawei’s MateBook X Pro laptop, which was released last month, uses Intel’s Core Ultra 9 chip.

 

Michael McCaul, the Republican chair of the House foreign affairs committee, has repeatedly urged the commerce department’s Bureau of Industry and Security to take a tougher stance on Huawei.

 

In a letter last year, he raised concern that the Chinese group “can still buy significant amounts of US technology.”

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