The United States will once again delay a full ban on doing business with Huawei, saying that rural communications companies needed the extra time to switch their equipment away from products made by the Chinese tech giant.
US gives Huawei another 90 days before full ban takes effect
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is The Verge’s executive editor. He has covered tech, policy, and online creators for over a decade.
President Trump initiated the Huawei ban in May with an executive order directing his administration to restrict purchase and installation of critical communications equipment from “foreign adversaries.” Full implementation of the ban was quickly delayed, though, with a 90-day reprieve allowing Huawei to continue sending updates to phones and maintaining existing networks and equipment.
“Some of the rural companies are dependent on Huawei.”
That 90-day ban ends today, but US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross appeared on Fox Business this morning to announce another 90-day extension, which will end around November 19th.
“Some of the rural companies are dependent on Huawei, so we’re giving them a little more time to wean themselves off,” Ross said. Huawei’s networking equipment has been an affordable option for smaller telecom companies, and those customers are now in the tricky spot of having to pay to replace that equipment and install new parts.
Ross said an additional 46 subsidiaries of Huawei are being added to the ban list today, bringing the list of subsidiaries to more than 100, and making it harder for Huawei to continue to do business in the US. Ross called the addition of those subsidiaries “the big news today.”
Huawei called the addition of new subsidiaries “politically motivated” and “unjust treatment” that had “nothing to do with national security.” The 90-day extension “won’t have a substantial impact on Huawei’s business,” the company said.
Despite the temporary reprieves, the broader ban on doing business with Huawei has still caused major problems for the company. A number of major tech firms have cut off ties with Huawei, limiting its access to critical software and components, like Google’s Android and Intel’s processors.
The Commerce Department has yet to grant a license for any American company to continue business with Huawei. Ross said in July that the US would begin issuing those licenses “where there is no threat to US national security.”
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