According to media reports, U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration is contemplating a complete ban on exports to China’s telecom equipment giant Huawei Technologies.
As America debates whether to change their licensing policy, some administration officials are advocating for a ban on all sales to Huawei. It implies that the tighter controls are the result of domestic politics in the United States, rather than increased security concerns.
The ban would completely cut Huawei off from a variety of components, such as those from Qualcomm, which has maintained an export license to supply Huawei with smartphone chips.
The refusal to grant new export licenses does not immediately cut Huawei off. If the US does not revoke existing licenses, it will only stop granting new licenses. That means Huawei would have a few more months of parts before the current licenses expire.
It is unclear why the U.S. government is considering a total ban, but the Biden administration appears to be tougher. However, further restrictions on Huawei will exacerbate Washington’s campaign against Chinese organizations that the government believes pose a threat to national security.
The Republican politicians who control the House of Representatives are also putting pressure on the Biden administration to be tougher on China and limit its access to advanced technology as much as possible.
The sources for this piece include an article in TheRegister.