The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced that it would ease certain export restrictions recently imposed on Chinese vendor Huawei Technologies, in a move to give operators time to make other arrangements, the entity said in a release.
The BIS said it would issue a Temporary General License (TGL) amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to authorize “specific, limited engagement” in transactions involving the export, reexport, and transfer of items to Huawei Technologies and its sixty-eight non-U.S. affiliates, which were added to the Bureau’s Entity List on May 16.
The Trump administration last Friday confirmed that the U.S. Department of Commerce had added Huawei to its Entity List, a decision that effectively banned the company from buying parts and components from U.S. companies without U.S. government approval. Under the order, Huawei will need a U.S. government license to buy components from U.S. suppliers.
This particular license will last 90 days, and then the Commerce Department will evaluate whether to extend the TGL beyond that three-month period.
“The Temporary General License grants operators time to make other arrangements and the Department space to determine the appropriate long term measures for Americans and foreign telecommunications providers that currently rely on Huawei equipment for critical services,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “In short, this license will allow operations to continue for existing Huawei mobile phone users and rural broadband networks.”
The BIS said that the Temporary General License authorizes certain activities necessary to the continued operations of existing networks and to support existing mobile services, including cybersecurity research critical to maintaining the integrity and reliability of existing and fully operational networks and equipment.
The Chinese company is still barred from sourcing U.S. components and software to make new products without a license as the BIS’s new resolution stipulates that any exports, reexports, or in country transfers of items subject to the EAR will continue to require a special license granted after a review by BIS.
Meanwhile, Huawei’s founder Ren Zhengfei told Chinese state media that the company’s 5G plan would not be affected by the U.S. ban and predicted that no other vendors would be able to catch up with the company in 5G technology in the next 2-3 years, adding that the U.S. government was underestimating Huawei’s capabilities.
The executive also said that the temporary easing of some restrictions recently announced by the U.S government means little to Huawei as the firm has been making preparation for this scenario over the last months.
