What you need to know
- The Trump administration has halted shipments to Huawei by several American semiconductor companies, including Intel.
- The U.S. Commerce Department plans to reject dozens of applications to supply to Huawei.
- More than $280 billion of license applications are yet to be processed.
Since it added Huawei to the "entity list" in May 2019, the Trump administration has continued to target the Chinese company and its affiliates. Just days before Democrat Joe Biden assumes office, the Trump administration has halted American semiconductor companies from supplying components to Huawei.
As per a report from Reuters, the Trump administration has sent out notices to a number of Huawei suppliers, including Intel, that it is revoking their licenses to supply components to the Chinese company. People familiar with the matter have told the publication that the Commerce Department intends to reject several other applications to supply to Huawei.
According to an email accessed by Reuters, the Semiconductor Industry Association said on Friday that the Commerce Department had issued "intents to deny a significant number of license requests for exports to Huawei and a revocation of at least one previously issued license." A total of eight licenses have apparently been revoked from four companies.
The semiconductor association's email also noted that the Trump administration's actions spanned a broad range of products in the semiconductor industry, and many of the companies had been "waiting months" for licensing decisions.
Before the Trump administration's latest move, around 150 licenses were pending for approximately $120 billion worth of goods and technology. They were held up as various U.S. agencies couldn't reach a consensus on whether or not the licenses should be granted. The report adds that another $280 billion of license applications for supply of goods and technology to Huawei are yet to be processed, but they are now more likely to be denied.
