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The Biden administration has revoked export licenses allowing Intel and Qualcomm to supply chips to Huawei, as the U.S. government ramps up pressure on Chinese telecom equipment companies.
The U.S. Commerce Department’s move will affect Huawei’s supply of chips for laptops and mobile phones, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Commerce Department confirmed to the Financial Times that it had “revoked certain licenses for exports to Huawei,” but did not say which U.S. companies would be affected.
“Given the ever-changing threat environment and technological landscape, we continually evaluate controls to best protect our national security and foreign policy interests,” a department spokesperson said. “As part of this process, we may revoke export licenses, as we have done in the past.”
One of the people familiar with the situation said the Commerce Department had notified affected companies but did not provide details.
The U.S. government already has strict restrictions on sales of U.S. technology to Huawei, but Republican lawmakers are urging President Joe Biden to take even tougher measures against the Chinese group. National security officials claim this is aiding the Chinese government’s cyber espionage efforts around the world. Huawei denied this claim.
“This is a sign of how seriously the U.S. government is taking what it sees as a national security threat from Chinese technology,” said Meghan Harris, an export control expert at consulting firm Beacon Global Strategies. This is an important move to show that we will not back down.”
“To the extent that industry and foreign partners have been watching to see if the administration will soften its stance, this is a clear indicator that this is not the case and we should expect future administrations to continue on course.” ” she said.
The move comes amid U.S. wariness over Huawei’s ability to develop advanced chips despite extensive export controls introduced in 2022. When U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo visited China last year, Huawei launched the Mate 60 Pro, a smartphone equipped with an advanced chip that surprised experts.
Marco Rubio, the Republican vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Elise Stefanik, the No. 4 Republican in the House, last month urged Raimondo to force the Shenzhen-based group to revoke Huawei’s license. Intel chip.
“These trends make it clear that Huawei, a blacklisted company that was in crisis just a few years ago, is making a comeback,” the lawmakers said in the letter.
Following the publication of the letter, Intel said it was “in strict compliance with all laws and regulations of the countries in which we operate.” Huawei’s MateBook X Pro laptop, released last month, uses Intel’s Core Ultra 9 chip. Intel declined to comment on the pending Commerce Department action.
Michael McCaul, the Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has repeatedly called on the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security to take a tougher stance against Huawei. In a letter last year, he expressed concern that Chinese groups “still have the ability to purchase significant amounts of U.S. technology.”
Qualcomm did not respond to requests for comment. Intel declined to comment.
The FT reported last month that the United States was pressuring allies in Europe and Asia to tighten export controls on chip-related technology to China, citing growing concerns about Huawei.
