Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei could be completely banned from buying U.S.-built technology components under heightened export control restrictions being considered by the Biden administration, according to multiple reports.
Multiple U.S. firms say they have been told by the Department of Commerce that it will no longer approve licenses to export American-built technology to Huawei, the Financial Times first reported.
The move comes amid heightened friction between the U.S. and China, including a mid-2022 flare-up in tensions over the status of Taiwan, which dominates the world’s semiconductor market.
The United States in 2019 added Huawei and ZTE to Commerce’s “entity list,” effectively blocking their access to advanced U.S. technology amid long-standing fears that the companies pose national security risks. Addition to the entity list is viewed as tantamount to blacklisting but regulations allow Commerce to grant export licenses to listed companies after vetting the proposed sale.
The Financial Times reports that Intel and Qualcomm obtained licenses to sell less advanced technology to Huawei, which the Shenzhen-based company incorporated into smartphones and personal computers.
The restrictions prevented Huawei from obtaining the more advanced technology it would need to build smartphones that are compatible with 5G networks, The Wall Street Journal reports.
