Published on July 1st, 2019 📆 | 3316 Views ⚑
0Huawei may get its US supply chain back after Trump’s policy “U-turn”
Trump said Saturday that "US companies can sell their equipment to Huawei," as long as the transactions won't present a "great, national emergency problem."
In May, the US Commerce Department banned sales of American-made goods to Huawei without first obtaining a license. US officials have accused the company of working to undermine US national security and foreign policy interests.
Trump said Huawei was still part of the ongoing trade discussions between Washington and Beijing, but for now, he would move to resume allowing US companies to sell parts to the Chinese firm.
Huawei responded on one of the company's official twitter accounts: "U-turn? Donald Trump suggests he would allow #Huawei to once again purchase U.S. technology!"
The Commerce Department, which issued the ban against Huawei in May, did not respond to requests for comment on how it will modify the company's status. The White House did not immediately respond to questions about whether it had already asked Commerce to review the issue.
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Fox News on Sunday that Trump's move was not "amnesty." He repeated that Huawei can resume buying from US businesses so long as it does not present a national security concern. The Commerce Department would "probably" be looking at how to "grant some temporary licenses" for US firms to resume business with Huawei.
Huawei has denied accusations of wrongdoing. And it's lobbied over the past few weeks to regain access to US products, which are key to its supply chain.
"We acknowledge the US president's comments relating to Huawei yesterday and have no further comment at this time," the company said Sunday.
Those companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment Saturday.
Trump appeared to acknowledge that US suppliers aren't happy with the current policy.
"The (US) companies were not exactly happy that they couldn't sell," he said. The United States sells a "tremendous amount of product" to Huawei, he added.
The ban on purchasing goods from American companies is not, however, the only policy hurdle Huawei faces in the United States. An executive order Trump signed in May bars US firms from purchasing or using Huawei telecom gear. Officials said it could pose a spying risk to Western infrastructure networks.
Huawei, which is considered a world leader in developing technologies to support 5G networks, has said banning the company from the United States would ultimately hurt American businesses and consumers.
"Restricting Huawei from doing business in the US will not make the US more secure or stronger; instead, this will only serve to limit the US to inferior yet more expensive alternatives, leaving the US lagging behind in 5G deployment," the company said in a statement responding to the executive order.
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