14 DAY TRIAL // The US government has temporarily lifted some restrictions against Chinese tech giant Huawei after an order signed by President Trump last week banned the company from working with American firms.
The order blocked Huawei from using software and hardware belonging to American companies, including Google, technically making it impossible for the Chinese manufacturer to install the licensed version of Android on its devices.
However, the US Commerce Department has decided to suspend some of these restrictions for three months, giving companies working with Huawei more time to “make other arrangements,” as per a Reuters report citing U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross.
“In short, this license will allow operations to continue for existing Huawei mobile phone users and rural broadband networks,” the US official is quoted as saying.
During these three months, Huawei can maintain its existing network and ship updates to its exciting products, but on the other hand, it can’t purchase parts and components from American companies that can be then used for the manufacturing of its own devices.
The suspension of the ban will expire on August 19, and the US authorities suggest an extension is possible at some point in the near future.
Huawei: They underestimate our capabilities
In an official statement released yesterday, Huawei explained that it already helped the Android ecosystem expand substantially, pointing out that the entire industry benefits from its investments.
“Huawei has made substantial contributions to the development and growth of Android around the world. As one of Android’s key global partners, we have worked closely with their open-source platform to develop an ecosystem that has benefited both users and the industry,” Huawei said.
In a separate statement, Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei says the recent ban announced by the US government has little to no impact on his company because they were already prepared for such a decision.
“The U.S. government’s actions at the moment underestimate our capabilities,” Ren was quoted as saying to Chinese media CCTV.
A series of other companies decided to end their collaboration with Huawei following the new order, including Intel, Qualcomm, and Broadcom.