The US government isn’t done attempting to block Huawei. Today, the US Commerce Department announced that it’s expanding trade restrictions meant to prevent Huawei from obtaining semiconductors without a special license, Reuters reports.
The aim is to stop the Chinese company buying computer chips made using US technology, even if they were not designed specifically for Huawei. It also adds 38 names linked to Huawei to a trade blacklist.
“Huawei has continuously tried to evade” restrictions imposed in May, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.
At that time, the US Commerce Department said global chipmakers that used US technology had to obtain a licence from the US government to work on designs for Huawei.
The new order broadens those restrictions, requiring companies to seek permission even if they are selling an “off the shelf” general purpose design.
“As we have restricted its access to US technology, 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,” US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said.
The US is also adding another 38 Huawei affiliates from 21 countries to the US government’s economic blacklist, Reuters says. That brings the total of banned Huawei affiliates to 152. This comes just days after the Commerce Department stopped granting Huawei temporary licenses to keep supporting existing US customers.
