US tech companies will be able to continue selling to Huawei.
US President Donald Trump has reportedly agreed to award licensing deals between American companies and Chinese tech giant Huawei in a “timely” way. It comes as the US government looks to negotiate a trade deal with China, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
Huawei was blacklisted in May when it was added to the United States’ “entity list” (PDF). But US companies will be able to sell equipment to Huawei, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross confirmed earlier this month, if they get licenses when there’s no threat to national security.
The Trump agreement reportedly followed a meeting at the White House with tech giants Google, Qualcomm, Intel, Cisco, Broadcom, Western Digital and Micron Technology.
“The CEOs expressed strong support of the president’s policies, including national security restrictions on United States telecom equipment purchases and sales to Huawei,” the White House told The Wall Street Journal. “They requested timely licensing decisions from the Department of Commerce, and the president agreed. The group was also optimistic about United States 5G innovation and deployments.”
The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
In addition to adding Huawei to the entity list, Trump at the same time signed an executive order essentially banning the company in light of national security concerns that Huawei had close ties with the Chinese government. Huawei has repeatedly denied that charge.
