Huawei

[Update: Until May] Huawei granted 90-day license by US, pushes full ban back

Ben Schoon | Mar 12 2020 - 7:02 am PT

Huawei has been operating for the past three months on a “general license” that gives it the ability to continue limited work with some US companies. As Huawei is still on the US Entity List and that license has just expired, the US Government has confirmed a 90-day extension that will prevent a full ban on the company.

8/19/2019: When the ban on Huawei was first implemented earlier this year, the company was quickly granted a lifeline in the form of a temporary license. That 90-day license expires today, but the US has announced in the final hours that an extension was granted. US Commerce Secretary confirmed the news this morning on Fox Business (via The Verge).

A big reason for this extension is that some rural parts of the United States rely on Huawei networking equipment, with Wilbur Ross saying that this extension gives them more time to “ween themselves off.” Of course, given the cost of that project, 90 days may not be enough.

On top of that, Wilbur Ross also called the “big news of the day” that 46 more subsidiaries of Huawei to the Entity List. He explains that this makes it “more difficult for Huawei to get around the sanctions.”

This ban extension could also give Huawei more time to continue maintaining its other products such as smartphones and tablets. Huawei recently announced more details about its Android Q update, and this extension could make it easier for that update to be rolled out depending on whether or not the US allows Google to work with Huawei.

Update 11/18/2019: The last extension granted to Huawei by the US Government was about to expire but this week the Commerce Department has filed documents that push the full ban back another 90 days. The Verge spotted the extension which, barring any changes, would push the ban back through February 16th, 2020. A Huawei spokesperson said the following on the extension:

Extending the Temporary General License won’t have a substantial impact on Huawei’s business either way. This decision does not change the fact that Huawei continues to be treated unfairly.

Update 3/12/2020: After the previous extension ended in February, the US government is granting yet another. As Android Police details, the general license was extended through May 15th on Tuesday. This is, again, to give internet service providers using Huawei equipment the needed time to replace the equipment, a process that a recent funding bill should help with.

Also notable is that, this time, the US Department of Commerce is asking for public comments regarding “the continuing need for, and scope of, possible future extensions of the Temporary General License (TGL) for Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and its non-United States affiliates (Huawei) on the Entity List.”