Huawei gets U.S. nod to buy auto chips, sparking blowback
U.S. officials have approved licence applications worth hundreds of millions of dollars for China’s blacklisted telecom company Huawei to buy chips for its growing auto component business, two people familiar with the matter said.
Huawei, the world’s largest telecommunications equipment maker, has been hobbled by trade restrictions imposed by the Trump administration on the sale of chips and other components used in its network gear and smartphones businesses. The Biden administration has been reinforcing the hard line on exports to Huawei, denying licences to sell chips to Huawei for use in or with 5G devices.
But in recent weeks and months, people familiar with the application process told Reuters the U.S. has granted licences authorizing suppliers to sell chips to Huawei for such vehicle components as video screens and sensors. The approvals come as Huawei pivots its business toward items that are less susceptible to U.S. trade bans.
Not everyone is a fan. Republican Senator Tom Cotton, who has been deeply critical of Huawei in the past, said in a statement, “It’s unacceptable for the Biden administration to ease the pressure campaign against Chinese spy companies like Huawei.”
In response to the Reuters report, Senator Marco Rubio called the move “yet another example of President Biden’s failure to protect America’s economic and national security.”
He said Huawei has a long history of exporting Beijing’s “digital authoritarianism” and pressed the Biden Administration to increase penalties and restrictions on Huawei and other Chinese tech companies “instead of granting waivers.”
Auto chips are generally not considered sophisticated, lowering the bar for approval. One person close to the licence approvals said the government is granting licences for chips in vehicles that may have other components with 5G capability.
Asked about the automotive licences, a U.S. Department of Commerce spokesperson said the government continues to consistently apply licensing policies “to restrict Huawei’s access to commodities, software, or technology for activities that could harm U.S. national security and foreign policy interests.”
The Commerce Department is prohibited from disclosing licence approvals or denials, the person added.
A Huawei spokeswoman declined to comment on the licences, but said: “We are positioning ourselves as a new component provider for intelligent connected vehicles, and our aim is to help car OEMS (manufacturers) build better vehicles.”
“If it’s truly a commodity product, I think we would want western and allied companies getting that revenue,” said Cordell Hull, a high-ranking official in the Commerce Department during the Trump administration who helped craft U.S. policies on exports to China. “Standing alone, I don’t see a huge (national security) risk.”