On 10 July US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced that as long as Huawei remains on the entity list, in its implementation of President Donald Trump’s G20 summit directive, the department would issue licenses to sell components and spare parts to the Chinese tech giant when it’s determined there is no threat to US national security.
Huawei Chairman Liang Hua says the Chinese tech giant is still waiting to see any benefit from President Donald Trump’s pledge last month to grant US corporations permission to sell some components to the company, reports AP.
On Friday Liang Hua reiterated a call on the US to revise its “unjust and unfair” decision to add Huawei, the biggest producer of network equipment used by phone companies, to a blacklist restricting exports. He told a news conference that the continued blacklisting hurts the company’s US suppliers and global customers alike:
“So far we haven’t seen any tangible change…. Our stance is that the entity list should be lifted completely.”
Following through with plans to allow US companies to continue doing business with Huawei, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced that “to implement the president’s G20 summit directive two weeks ago, [the Department of] Commerce will issue licenses where there is no threat to US national security.”
Ross confirmed, however, that Huawei remains on the entity list, and that “the announcement does not change the scope of items requiring licenses from the US Commerce Department, nor the presumption of denial”.
Ren Zhengfei – Huawei founder and chief executive – hailed the decision as something that was “good for American companies”.
US President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping agreed at the G-20 summit in Japan to refrain from slapping additional tariffs on each other’s products as the two sides return to the negotiating table in a bid to finalise a trade agreement.
In a sign of a softened stance, Trump said he agreed to allow Huawei to purchase US products.
Back in May, Trump issued an executive order banning US companies from using telecommunications equipment from companies that pose a national security risk, with the Commerce Department adding Huawei to a list of entities with which firms are forbidden from doing business unless they receive a special government license.
The US and a number of other nations have been accusing Huawei of stealing commercial information with the help of their gadgets, and alleged that the company was working on behalf of the Chinese government.
Huawei has vehemently dismissed the allegations.
The pressure on Huawei comes against the backdrop of a trade spat between the United States and China, with the two sides exchanging several rounds of tariffs.