What you need to know
- President Donald Trump has extended his executive order that bans U.S. companies from using telecommunications equipment made by firms that pose a national security risk.
- The extension means Huawei and ZTE will not be able to sell their telecommunications equipment in the U.S. or trade with American firms until May 2021.
- Huawei's Android license will also stay revoked.
In May last year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that banned U.S. companies from purchasing telecommunications equipment or trading with companies that pose a national security risk. The order, which was aimed at Chinese companies like Huawei and ZTE, has now been extended (via Reuters) by another year.
Fortunately for Huawei, the U.S. Commerce Department is expected to extend the temporary general license granted to the company once again. The license extensions have allowed Huawei to continue to support its telecommunications equipment and phones. Since the executive order was signed by the U.S. President in May last year, the Commerce Department has extended the temporary general license granted to Huawei four times. The most recent extension was announced in March and is set to expire on May 15.
However, when it announced the most recent extension in March, the Commerce Department hinted that it might not continue issuing further license extensions in the future. It sought public comments on whether such extensions should continue to be granted and tried to determine the impact of ending license extensions on U.S. companies and organizations.
While license extensions will allow Huawei to continue to buy some U.S. goods, its Android license will stay revoked through May 2021. The company will have to continue to focus on Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) and its own app store.
