- Tech companies are asking the administration to allow sales for Huawei-made smartphones and laptops,
- The subject to come up Monday at White House where Huawei’s major suppliers are scheduled to meet Kudlow.
The Washington Post has reported that the U.S. technology industry is pushing the Trump administration for permission to supply Chinese tech company Huawei with parts for consumer technology products, arguing that such sales won’t hurt U.S. national security, according to people familiar with the matter.
Key notes from the article:
- Tech companies are asking the administration to allow sales of chips and other parts for Huawei-made smartphones and laptops, even if the White House is intent on continuing to block exports of supplies Huawei uses to manufacture 5G wireless equipment, according to the people, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive issues.
- Several large semiconductor companies recently made such requests in applications to the Commerce Department, petitioning for special licenses that would allow them to sell some products to Huawei, these people said.
- The subject is likely to come up Monday at the White House where Huawei’s major suppliers are scheduled to meet with National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow, according to people familiar with the matter.
- Companies such as Qualcomm, Intel and Google are expected to talk with Kudlow and other administration officials, and President Trump may make a brief appearance at the gathering.
- Tech companies are also asking the administration to relax the anti-Huawei rules that now bar them from participating alongside the Chinese company in global standards-setting bodies, which establish technical rules that underpin global networks, according to one person familiar with the matter.
- Prominent lawmakers, including Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), have warned the president not to ease up on Huawei.
- Earlier this week, bipartisan groups of lawmakers in the House and Senate introduced legislation that would reinforce the existing ban on U.S. companies providing computer chips and other key parts to Huawei.
- “Our bill will prohibit U.S.-based companies from doing business with Huawei until they no longer pose a national security threat,” said Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who was among the Senate sponsors. The House has included similar language in its version of the fiscal 2020 defense authorization bill.
- The Commerce Department added Huawei to a trade blacklist in May, saying it had “reasonable cause to believe” that the company was “involved in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States.”
- Some attorneys who focus on U.S. export law have disagreed with that interpretation, arguing that the value in the chip comes not just from the physical manufacturing of the product, but also from the design, which happens largely in the United States.
- So far, the Commerce Department has not indicated it would crack down on companies that continue to sell Huawei products manufactured outside the U.S. by American companies, according to the people familiar with chip makers’ plans.
There is no material impact for FX at the moment, but positive implacations coudl come of such easing of the stand off.
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