US President Joe Biden's administration has revoked eight licenses this year that had allowed some companies to ship goods to Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei Technologies Co (華為), according to a document seen by Reuters, as it seeks to pressure the resurgent company.
The US Department of Commerce, which oversees US export policy, said in May it had revoked "certain" licenses, but did not specify the name or number of suppliers that were impacted. Licenses for Qualcomm Inc and Intel Corp were among those revoked, Reuters reported at the time.
"Since the beginning of 2024, (the Commerce Department) has revoked eight additional licenses involving Huawei," the agency said in the document, prepared in response to an inquiry by Republican Congressman Michael McCaul.
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Huawei did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Qualcomm and Intel did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside of business hours.
The details shed new light on measures the Biden administration is taking to thwart Huawei, as the company has started to rebound despite Washington's efforts to cripple it on national security grounds. Huawei has denied it is a security risk.
It also comes amid pressure from Republican China hardliners in Congress to hammer the company, which shocked the industry in August last year with a new phone powered by a sophisticated chip manufactured by Chinese chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (中芯) despite US export restrictions on both companies.
Huawei was placed on a US trade restriction list in 2019 amid fears it could spy on Americans. Being added to the list means the company's suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping.
But Huawei suppliers have received licenses worth billions of dollars to sell Huawei goods and technology, thanks to a policy introduced by former US president Donald Trump's administration that allowed a much broader swathe of items to flow to the firm than is typical for an entity-listed company.
According to the document, set to be sent to McCaul yesterday, license approvals for Huawei include "exercise equipment and office furniture and low-technology components for consumer mass-market items, such as touchpad and touchscreen sensors for tablets," which are widely available in China from Chinese and foreign sources, the commerce department said.
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