Huawei gets US license extension until Feb 2020

And yet another extension. Technology giant Huawei has been given another 90-day reprieve by the Trump administration on the day that the second temporary license was set to expire, as seen in this official document.

Huawei, along with 114 of its non-U.S. affiliates, now has until February 16, 2020, to continue to do business with American firms. This development comes amid the ongoing trade negotiations between China and the United States.

The U.S. placed the company on its Entity List May 16 this year, citing national security concerns. However, on May 20, it granted Huawei the first of three Temporary General Licenses meant to minimize disruption for the latter’s customers, many of which are wireless carriers that operate in rural areas.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross warned, though, that “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.”

Two weeks ago, Ross said that the Commerce Department will be giving individual licenses for American companies to sell goods and services to Huawei. That could have probably given the Shenzhen-headquartered manufacturer access to Google Mobile Services. However, that hasn’t happened at the time of posting this article.

With the ban in effect, Huawei launched its Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro flagship phones without Google Play and apps like Gmail and YouTube. But its current problem with the United States government did not stop the brand from shipping higher-than-expected volumes and retaining the No. 2 spot in the global smartphone market last quarter.

The current situation has pushed Huawei to double-down on its own ecosystem. It has made a $1-billion investment in a program that aims to accelerate development for Huawei Mobile Services. In fact, just last week, the company held in Singapore its first-ever APAC Developer Day.

In August, Huawei also launched HarmonyOS — or Hongmeng, as it is called in China — an operating system that could rival Android and iOS.

Via Reuters and The Verge

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Alora Uy Guerrero

Editor-in-chief: Alora Uy Guerrero has 22 years of experience as an editor for print and digital publications such as Yahoo. She took time off journalism to manage OPPO’s digital-marketing campaigns. When not busy with her babies, she’s working on Revü, a passion project — or probably traveling or obsessing over her favorite bands, movies, TV shows, and basketball teams.