Huawei can get 90 days to buy US parts to fill orders before blacklist
Although US trade sanctions are still in effect, Huawei will Technologies have a further 90 days to buy from US companies so it can discontinue work with existing customers, according to a Reuters report.
The world's largest telecommunications equipment supplier was granted a "temporary general license" shortly after the ban, which was originally issued on August 19. The US Department of Commerce will now extend those permits to November, two sources familiar with the situation told Reuters.
In May, the Trump administration added Huawei and 68 of its affiliates to the Department of Commerce's device list amid national security concerns that it might be conspiring with Chinese spy networks. This measure prevents US companies from trading with the Chinese supplier and excludes government approval (although some have since figured out how to sell them anyway). These sanctions, along with other US allegations of trade theft and fraud, coincide with a growing US-China trade war, prompting Huawei, who denies these allegations, to claim that the United States is heading for a lubrication campaign since the companies cannot compete. [19659004] In July, President Donald Trump floated the opportunity to ease the restrictions, but who has any idea what the president's words mean anymore. The administration later clarified that it intends to issue commercial licenses to US companies on an individual basis, provided "there is no threat to US national security," though what it means is not yet exactly established. Huawei, for its part, has said that all this talk has not changed much.
A source told Reuters that Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump have scheduled a meeting this weekend to discuss Huawei, so this postponement may still change before the original deadline. Huawei did not immediately respond to Gizmodo's request for comment on the matter.
Even with the postponement, the company would only buy American parts for service orders made prior to the ban. Any production of new products will still require additional licenses from the US government.
