As Congress investigates Huawei, a Chinese telecoms giant, the US government is revising its export policy to Huawei. The Commerce Department is performing a “top-to-bottom review” of its China export control policies, including the Huawei policy. Read here for more details.
Related: US Government To Lift Some Huawei Sanctions
Huawei was added to the Commerce Department’s Entity List in 2019, barring US firms from dealing with it without a license. The Chinese government could use Huawei’s 5G cellular networking gear for spying, prompting the move. Huawei denies the claims, and its founder has said the firm will fight any Chinese government data requests.
Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Michael McCaul said the Commerce Department accepted over $23 billion in license applications to deal with Chinese-affiliated Entity List companies between January and March 2022. McCaul questioned the department’s approval of these permits while the US government tried to marginalize Huawei and others.
On Tuesday, Commerce Department employee Alan Estevez told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that the Huawei licensing law was “under review.” Estevez noted that Entity List limitations do not impose a “blanket embargo” on exports but specify export rules.
In 2020, the Commerce Department prohibited Huawei’s vendors from selling silicon chips made by US-built software and equipment without a license. The Federal Communications Commission has also barred US wireless carriers from using federal money to buy Huawei networking gear and banned future approvals of Huawei equipment for sale in the US.
Huawei’s scrutiny by the US government is part of a more significant trend of rising US-China tech conflict. The US government has restricted Chinese firms’ access to US technology due to concerns about their official ties. China has charged the US with unjustly targeting its firms and developed its technology to reduce its reliance on US imports.
The Commerce Department’s Huawei export policy review is pending. The study emphasizes technology’s role in US-China geopolitical conflict.
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