Senior Trump administration officials have reached an agreement to limit the access of Chinese telecom Huawei to the global chip supply chain, Reuters reported. The new rule would require foreign companies that use American chip-making equipment to obtain a license from the U.S. before being allowed to sell the equipment to Huawei, the largest 5G equipment manufacturer in the world.
According to Reuters, the decision was made to alter the Foreign Direct Product Rule after a meeting last week between officials from various federal agencies. Both the White House and the Commerce Department declined to comment to The Hill. A spokesperson for Huawei also to declined comment. Huawei has consistently pushed back against the allegations.
The move against Huawei follows months of pushback against the company from both the Trump administration and bipartisan members of Congress over a Chinese law that requires its companies and citizens to participate in state intelligence work and share data if requested.
The Commerce Department added Huawei to its “entity list” last year, effectively blacklisting the company. The FCC voted in November to classify Huawei as a national security threat and banned U.S. telecom groups from using FCC funds to purchase Huawei equipment, Inside Towers reported.
More recently, President Trump signed into law, measures intended to limit Huawei’s presence in the U.S., including a law that bans use of any federal funds to purchase Huawei equipment. The measure also directs the government to create a fund to reimburse small, rural telecoms for removing Huawei gear from their networks and replacing it with equipment from trusted vendors, Inside Towers reported.
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