US revokes chip sales licenses to Huawei

• US government revokes licenses allowing US chip makers to export goods to Chinese tech giant Huawei.
• The move follows Huawei’s release of an AI-enabled computer powered by Intel’s chip.
• US lawmakers criticized the Biden administration for taking this action.

The US government announced that it had revoked some licenses that permitted US chip makers to export certain goods to Chinese technology giant Huawei. The Department of Commerce did not specify which permits it canceled, but it took the action following Huawei’s release of an AI-enabled computer powered by a chip created by Intel.

American chip maker Intel declined to comment in response to a request from BBC News. The BBC has also contacted Huawei and San Diego-based chip giant Qualcomm for their responses to the announcement.

Since 2019, the US has restricted technology exports, such as computer chips, to Huawei, citing alleged ties to the Chinese military.

“We have revoked certain licenses for exports to Huawei,” stated the Commerce Department in a statement on Tuesday, but it did not provide details of which permits had been withdrawn.

Following the launch last month of Huawei’s MateBook X Pro laptop, some US lawmakers criticized the administration of President Joe Biden.

“Make no mistake, the Biden Administration would not have taken this action if Republicans in Congress were not holding them accountable,” said Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik in a social media post.

US trade restrictions have hit Huawei hard, but the Chinese company has recently appeared to mount a comeback.

The company has enjoyed a resurgence, particularly after the Mate 60 Pro smartphone launch in August.

During the presidency of Donald Trump in 2019, US officials added Huawei to a so-called “entity list.”

It means that the government requires US companies to obtain a license to export or transfer some technologies, particularly due to concerns about their potential use by the Chinese military.

However, during that time, some US companies, including Intel and Qualcomm, were granted licenses to supply Huawei with technology that was not related to 5G.

In recent years, the US has imposed restrictions on several Chinese technology firms as tensions between the world’s two biggest economies intensified.

Earlier this month, President Biden signed a law that could ban the video app TikTok in the country unless its Chinese parent company sells it. TikTok filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to block the legislation.

Beijing has condemned Washington’s moves against its companies, describing them as ‘economic bullying’.

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