UPDATE Earlier this week, the Department of Commerce extended temporary authority for some U.S. companies to resume sales tech to Huawei through mid-February. Now, the administration has begun issuing those licenses to some of the roughly 290 applicants.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told Fox Business Network Tuesday: “These are not extensions that make life pleasant for them,” Ross said.
“These are general license extensions that give them a very limited ability to serve as existing activities that were in place before May 13 when we put them on the [black] list.”
Reuters reported about 75 applications were approved for special temporary licenses, including semiconductor manufacturers. The approved licenses concerned consumer products that were deemed noncontroversial and to have no potential security threat, an industry official told The Washington Post.
One-quarter of applications were denied, according to the official. The denials involve firms that build communication network equipment, whether 5G, radio or other components, the industry official said.
The Department of Commerce did not reveal which companies, nor the components were authorized. The agency stated it was authorizing only, “limited and specific activities which do not pose a significant risk to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States.”
Companies sought the extension after Huawei was blacklisted in May when the U.S. cited security concerns, which Huawei repeatedly denied. All U.S. companies that conduct business with Huawei now require a license.
November 22, 2019
The post Administration Begins Okaying Licenses for Sales to Huawei appeared first on Inside Towers.