The United States government has reportedly decided to stop approving licences for American firms to export items to Chinese technology giant Huawei. According to Financial Times, the US Department of Commerce has informed US firms that it would not issue licences for US technology exports to the tech giant Huawei.
The Chinese multinational technology corporation has been under the radar of the US administration for a very long time. In November last year, the US banned the sale and import of new communication equipment from five Chinese companies including Chinee tech firms Huawei and ZTE, BBC reported.
According to the report, the Biden administration is eying to tighten its rules on exports of US technology to China. In the November ban, Washington accused Huawei and other enlisted companies of being a threat to US national security. Commenting on the move, a US Commerce Department spokesperson told the BBC that the department is “working closely” with export control partners.
“Working closely with our interagency export control partners at the Departments of Energy, Defense and State, we continually assess our policies and regulations and communicate regularly with external stakeholders,” the spokesperson asserted. “We do not comment on conversations with or deliberations about specific companies,”, the department spokesperson added.
Tussle between the US government and Huawei continues
The Chinese technology company has faced several export restrictions from the US administration. The reports of the export restrictions are also coming to light in the midst of the growing political tensions between Washington and Beijing over China’s growing assertiveness in Taiwan.
However, the US government have been sceptical about Huawei’s operation in the country even before Joe Biden assumed the office of the President. In 2019, under the presidency of former President Donald Trump, US officials added the company to the so-called “entity list”.
The list meant that the US companies had to obtain a licence from the government to export or transfer technologies to the enlisted companies. According to BBC, the move was initiated because of growing concerns over the use of American technology by the Chinese Military.
Hence, the new move by the US indicates that Washington is heading towards a total ban on the sale of US technology to Chinese firms.
