US temporarily lifts Huawei ban

Huawei faced a major setback yesterday when it was reported that Google and other US companies said that they will cut ties with Huawei in compliance to the demands of the US government.

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Good for 90 days

Today, Reuters reported that US eases some restrictions to Huawei. The Department of Commerce has given Huawei a temporary license to maintain its current products.

It will allow Huawei to maintain business relationships with Google and others to release software updates to existing hardware.

However, it is just temporary for 90 days. It is just a limited license in effect until August 19, 2019.

The goal seems to be to prevent internet, computer and cell phone systems from crashing, said Washington lawyer Kevin Wolf, a former Commerce Department official. This is not a capitulation. This is housekeeping.

The Commerce Department also said that they will evaluate if they will extend the exemptions beyond 90 days.

The ban lift doesn't mean all is well between US and Huawei too. Reuters reported that Huawei is still prohibited from buying American parts and components to manufacture new products without license approvals that likely will be denied.

The temporary license was similar to what was given to ZTE. The ban on ZTE was lifted after the company struck an agreement with the Commerce Department that included a USD 1 billion fine plus USD 400 million in escrow and replacement of its board of directors and senior management.

Let's hope that this soured relationship between US and Huawei will end soon.

Source: Reuters