US To Block Shipments Of Semiconductors To Huawei: Report

The Trump administration is blocking shipments of semiconductors to Huawei Technologies from global chipmakers on Friday, according to Reuters, citing the U.S. Commerce Department.

The Commerce Department has said it is amending an export rule to “strategically target Huawei’s acquisition of semiconductors that are the direct product of certain U.S. software and technology,” the publication reported. 

China Retaliation

If the U.S. further blocks key technology supply to Huawei, China will, in retaliation, activate the "unreliable entity list" and restrict or investigate U.S. companies such as Qualcomm QCOM, Cisco Systems CSCO and Apple Inc. AAPL; and suspend the purchase of Boeing Co BA airplanes, Hu Xijin, the editor-in-chief of the Global Times, said in a tweet.

Exactly one year ago, the Trump administration added Huawei to a list of companies that U.S. firms can no longer trade with unless they have a license. The "entity list" banned companies from acquiring technology from U.S. firms without government approval.

The U.S. has been convincing its allies, the members of the Five Eyes, which is an anglophone intelligence alliance including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the U.K. and the U.S., to exclude Huawei from the construction of new telecommunications networks.

Last year, U.S. National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien warned the U.K. that allowing China’s Huawei into its 5G telecommunications networks would pose a risk to the U.K.’s secret intelligence services.

Huawei has always denied being controlled by the Chinese government or that its work poses any risks of espionage and sabotage.

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Public domain photo via Wikimedia.