As expected, the U.S. government has extended Huawei’s temporary export license for another 90 days. This will be the third 90-day temporary extension granted to the Chinese telecommunications giant, ever since it was placed under the U.S. Entity list which barred U.S. companies from trading with Huawei.
Huawei’s last 90-day extension expired yesterday, so this announcement was timely. According to the Trump administration, the extension is granted to support the existing infrastructure built by Huawei in the U.S. For example, a number of rural carriers in the country are dependent on Huawei and ZTE’s telecommunications equipment. Replacing them immediately isn’t an option given that it could cost them nearly billions to suddenly shift to another equipment maker.
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“The Temporary General License extension will allow carriers to continue to service customers in some of the most remote areas of the United States who would otherwise be left in the dark,” said the U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “The Department will continue to rigorously monitor sensitive technology exports to ensure that our innovations are not harnessed by those who would threaten our national security.”
This 90-day reprieve also allows Google to support Huawei’s existing Android-based smartphones. However, this extension does not apply to new models, so smartphones like the Mate 30 Pro won’t still be able to run Google applications.
While Huawei’s international smartphone strategy is currently in a shambles, the company seems to be working hard with its HarmonyOS to find a workaround for Google Apps. Recently, Huawei’s Ling Hua revealed in an interview with CNBC that the company would announce its HarmonyOS strategy on November 20. He didn’t reveal what kind of strategy he was referring to but it could be anything from bringing HarmonyOS to smartphones to doubling down the focus on IoT products. You can read more about what he said about HarmonyOS and its future from this article.
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