Exclusive: US firms can be nodded to start the Huawei sale in 2-4 weeks – officially

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States can approve business licenses to start reselling Huawei in as little as two weeks, according to a senior US official, indicating that President Donald Trump's recent attempt to ease Chinese restrictions company could get ahead quickly.

Huawei, the world's largest producer of telecommunications equipment , was added to a trading department list in May which prohibits US companies from supplying it with new US goods and services unless they receive licenses that are likely to be denied.

But since last year, after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, President Donald Trump was announced that US firms could sell products to Huawei. And in recent days, trade secretary Wilbur Ross said licenses would be issued where there is no threat to national security.

Trump's reversal, and rapid implementation of the Commerce Department, suggests that lobbying in the lobbying industry, coupled with Chinese political pressure, could provide a new US technology sale to Huawei.

Two US chipmakers who deliver Huawei, Reuters told the last few days that they would apply for more licenses after Ros's comments. They asked to remain anonymous.

A customer-management company and a company that simulates cross-sectional radar for Huawei will also probably archive applications in the coming days, according to Craig Ridgley, a commercial consultant in Washington.

Out of $ 70 billion that Huawei's used purchasing components in 2018, about $ 11 billion went to US firms, including Qualcomm ( QCOM.O ), Intel ( INTC.O ). ) and Micron Technology ( MU.O ).

"Since there is no inconvenience, companies are completely submitting applications, as required by the regulations," said the lawyer in Washington, Kevin Wolf, a former trade department official.

A Huawei spokesman said that "Entity list restrictions should be removed completely, rather than temporary licenses being sought for US vendors. Huawei has been found guilty of no relevant misconduct and represents no cyber security risk for any country, so the limitations are unnoticed. . "

US Companies can currently sell goods to maintain existing networks and provide software updates to existing Huawei phones, but are prohibited from reselling US-made goods and services.

Moreover, not all US sales to Huawei are hinged on licensing of government requests. Some US chip maker sales to Huawei may not need licenses because their products may be out of the scope of US export controls since many are manufactured overseas with few US components.

U.S .. officials have been trying to clarify the new policy in recent weeks and say they will allow the sale of non-sensitive technology readily available overseas if national security is protected. But they also pointed out that Huawei remains on the device list, and relief would be temporary.

The US semiconductor industry has been lobbying for broader relief, claiming that US security targets should be advanced in a way that does not undermine the ability to compete globally and retain technological leadership. Suppliers will be allowed to provide customer support for chips they build and sell abroad, or the approval to ship new US equipment to Huawei and its affiliates worldwide.

Nevertheless, it is unclear which products should be awarded licenses. Some US vendors sought clarity at a trade department meeting held in Washington this week.

A manufacturer's representative was told by senior US official that licenses could be granted in two to four weeks at the conference on Thursday.

The person, who did not want to be identified, said that the official had not delimited the approval approval criteria, but she came away and believed that they would be done in each case, at least first as the Agency sought to broaden opinions.

When asked about the guidance of senior official, a Trade Department spokesman said that the agency "currently considers all licenses and decides what is in the nation's best national security interest."

The United States has pending cases against Huawei for allegedly stealing US intellectual property and violating Iran's sanctions. It has also launched a lobbying to persuade US Allies to keep the Huawei out of the next-generation 5G telecommunications infrastructure, citing its ability to spy on customers. Huawei has denied the allegations.

Eric Hirschhorn, former trade minister, said that the problem for government officials now undergoing the licenses is that they do not know where the administration goes.

"The policy two minutes ago may not be the policy two minutes from now," Hirschhorn said.