The US administration Monday expanded its sanctions on China’s Huawei, a move aimed at further limiting the tech giant’s access to computer chips and other technology.
A Commerce Department statement added 38 Huawei affiliates around the world to the “entity list,” claiming that the company was using international subsidiaries to circumvent the sanctions which prevent export of US-based technology.
Secretary Ross: Huawei undermines US national security
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Huawei and its affiliates “have worked through third parties to harness US technology in a manner that undermines US national security and foreign policy interests.”
Read more: US uses battle against Huawei as proxy vs China
US officials have argued Huawei poses a security risk because of its links to the Beijing government, a claim denied by the company.
The #WhiteHouse has said that #Chinese tech giant #Huawei will remain banned from developing its #5G wireless networks in the #US, although US firms will be allowed to sell small components such as chips to the Chinese company.
Photo: IANS pic.twitter.com/rouV3vDqRh
— IANS (@ians_india) July 3, 2019
The toughening of sanctions comes amid heightened US-China tensions and claims by Washington that Chinese firms are being used for spying, despite repeated denials.
President Donald Trump has sought to ban the wildly popular mobile application TikTok if it is not divested by its Chinese parent firm ByteDance.
Effective immediately, the latest amendments were implemented to “impede” Huawei’s efforts to circumvent earlier export controls by going through third parties, said the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) in a statement Monday.
The bureau further noted that it imposed licence requirements on “any transaction involving items” subject to the export controls where a party on the Entity List was involved, for example, when Huawei was a purchaser, intermediate, or end-user. In addition, he said, the Temporary General Licence had expired.
Trump claims that Huawei spies on the USA
Speaking on Fox News Monday, Trump claimed that Huawei “comes out and they spy on our country — this is very intricate stuff, you have microchips, you have things that you can’t even see.”
Read more: Huawei unfazed despite US pressure
The Trump administration has banned Huawei from 5G wireless networks in the United States and has pressed allies to do the same.
In the meantime, Huawei became the largest global smartphone manufacturer in the past quarter, largely due to sales in the Chinese market, even as Washington moves to deny the company access to much of the Google Android system.
Mike Pompeo: "The Trump Administration sees Huawei for what it is—an arm of the Chinese Communist Party’s surveillance state—and we have taken action accordingly…We urge our allies and partners to join us."https://t.co/7HBFW3TSDR
— Jonathan Cheng (@JChengWSJ) August 18, 2020
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a separate statement that the Trump Administration “sees Huawei for what it is — an arm of the Chinese Communist Party’s surveillance state.”
Read more: US-China ‘Cold War’: how bad can it get?
Pompeo said the new sanctions were imposed “to protect US national security, our citizens’ privacy, and the integrity of our 5G infrastructure from Beijing’s malign influence.”
On Monday, the US BIS (Bureau of Industry and Security) within the Department of Commerce has announced that it will further limit Huawei from accessing US chips. According to the press release, Huawei has been able to circumvent the ban by purchasing American components through third-party companies.
Ban in bid to stop Huawei accessing US technology
The US Department of Commerce will ban 38 companies all directly affiliated with Huawei across 21 countries, which have been used to go around the US ban that the Trump Administration extended through May 2021, according to the BIS.
As we have restricted [Huawei’s] access to U.S. technology, Huawei and its affiliates have worked through third parties to harness U.S. technology in a manner that undermines U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. This multi-pronged action demonstrates our continuing commitment to impeding Huawei’s ability to do so. – US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross
The affiliate companies listed are all branches of Huawei that operate outside of China including design and Huawei Cloud centers, as well as some of its R&D centers throughout Europe.
Everything in the press release was intentionally meant to limit Huawei from doing business with the United States big tech companies. In fear that the “Chinese Communist Party” will direct Huawei to fulfill a scheme against US officials or US citizens.
According to APNews earlier this month citing a Huawei executive, the Chinese telecom giant is running out of processor chips and will have to eventually cease production of its high-end Kirin processors.
AFP with additional input by GVS News Desk