News
The decision sees renewed lobbying from the US tech industry as proposed regulations threaten to tighten
Government officials are seeking to alter current legislation that currently allows some US companies to work with Huawei, despite the Chinese behemoth’s blacklisting.
In May, the US government announced an export ban against Huawei, citing security concerns. However, due to a legal loophole, companies within the US could still sell to Huawei if they could prove that 75% or more of the work to create the product was done oversees.
Now, the US administration could be preparing to raise this de minimis threshold to 90%, as well as broadening the range of products to which the restriction applies. The proposed legislation could take effect as early as January 2020.
In a letter to US Secretary of Commerce earlier this month, the president of the Semiconductor Industry Association, John Neuffer said: “We respectfully request the Administration refrain from pursuing these regulatory changes and consider carefully the potentially significant harms they would cause.”
Industry representatives claim that if this regulation were to become reality, it would be the US itself that suffers most, as many of the components that Huawei purchases from US suppliers could be simply sourced from other global markets.
“Over the long term, companies in the US would be forced to reduce investment in the research needed to maintain US technology leadership, ultimately degrading the innovation that contributes to our economic leadership and national security,” Neuffer wrote.
The veracity of Huawei’s versatility with regards to suppliers is becoming more apparent, with the Chinese giant announcing plans to build a component manufacturing site in Europe.
“We are working on ensuring our survival in this context, by which I mean Huawei’s survival in the whole world, beyond the American market where we didn’t have a big presence anyway,” said Huawei chairman Liang Hua.
The fallout of the ongoing US–China trade war remains ongoing, but Huawei say they are not opposed to reconciliation with the distraught US companies.
"If the US government were to allow suppliers to deliver to us again, we would be ready to re-establish our cooperation with them,” Liang added.
