American chipmakers are allegedly lobbying to ease the Huawei ban
A woman cycling past a Huawei store in Shenyang, China.
Stringer | Reuters
Huawei's US chip suppliers, including Qualcomm and Intel, speak clearly to the US government to ease its ban on sales to the Chinese technological giant, although Huawei itself typically avoids public lobbying, people who are familiar with the situation say. . [19659002] Leaders from top US chipmakers Intel and Xilinx attended a meeting in late May with the Commerce Department to discuss a response to Huawei's placement on the black list, one person said.
The ban strikes US vendors from selling to Huawei, the world's
Qualcomm has also pushed the Commerce Department over the problem, four people said.
Chip makers claim that Huawei devices that sell products such as smartphones and data servers use commonly available parts and it is unlikely to present the same security issues as the Chinese technology company 5G networking equipment, according to three people.
"This is not about helping Huawei. It's about preventing damage to US companies," one of the people said.
Out of $ 70 billion that Huawei used to buy components in 201[ads1]8, about $ 11 billion went to US firms, including Qualcomm, Intel, and Micron Technology Inc.
For example, Qualcomm could continue sending chips to Huawei for common devices such as phones and smart watches, a person familiar with the company's situation.
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), a trading group, recognized the arranged consultations with the US government on behalf of the companies to help them comply and map officials about the impact of the ban on the companies.
"For technologies that are not related to national security, it seems that they should not fall within the scope of the order. And we have conveyed this perspective to the government," said Jimmy Goodrich, vice president of global politics at SIA.
The ban came shortly after the breakdown of talks to end the month-long trade spit between China and the United States, prompted by US allegations of Chinese corporate espionage, intellectual property theft, and forced technology transfer.
Google, which sells hardware, software and technical services to Huawei, has also claimed it can continue to sell to the company, Huawei chairman Liang Hua told reporters in China earlier this month.
The online search company, a unit of the alphabet, said in a statement that it is dealing with trade to ensure that it complies with the new rules.
A trade department representative said that the agency "routinely responds to inquiries from businesses regarding the scope of regulatory requirements ts", adding that the calls did not "affect law enforcement actions."
Intel, Xilinx and Qualcomm refused to comment. Huawei did not respond to a comment request.
In an interview in Mexico, Andrew Williamson, vice president of Huawei's public affairs, said the company had not asked anyone specifically to lobby on behalf of it.
"They do it for their own sake because, for many of them, Huawei is one of their big customers," he said, adding that chip makers knew that cutting Huawei could have "catastrophic" consequences for them.
China observers say US vendors are mainly trying to step the needle – not wanting to be seen as an alleged spy, thief and sanction, but fear of losing a good client and encouraging it to develop supplies elsewhere.
No one is listening [19659022] Huawei himself, who is also a top smartphone maker, has done very little traditional lobbying in Washington on the matter, but has considered sending a letter to the Commerce Department, two people know about Huawei's thinking.
"We simply have no communication channel," Liang told reporters earlier in his month.
One month after blacklisting, Huawei has not spoken to the US government about the matter, two people said.
Huawei had cut back his lobbying even before the ban. Last year, five employees in the Washington office, including its Vice President of External Affairs, and slashed lobbying expenses, Reuters reported.
Nevertheless, Huawei has set up a strong legal battle and unleashed a promotional campaign to defend itself against the US government's claims. It ran a full-page ad in major US newspapers in February following a series of interviews with Huawei's CEO Ren Zhengfei with a view to softening their dark image in the West.
Huawei's response emphasizes its recognition of its diminishing influence with the Trump administration, which launched a global campaign against the company, analysts said.
"Huawei has a loss over what to do next," said Jim Lewis, a cyber expert with Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies. "It's in a very bad position in the US. No one seems to be doing Huawei's service."
Nevertheless, the ban has had real consequences.
Broadcom, which does not have lobbying in the Department of Commerce, sent a shockwave through the global chipmaking industry when it predicts that US and China trading tensions and the Huawei ban will hit $ 2 billion from its sales this year.
The Ministry of Commerce made a concession only days after the ban was put in place, announcing on May 20 that it will offer a temporary general license that allows Huawei to buy US goods so that it can help existing customers maintain network reliability and equipment.
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