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US Huawei ban to be postponed for another three months

Extension will be the third reprieve since the embargo was issued

18 Nov 2019

The US government is set to grant another extension to the license exempting Huawei from the trade restrictions placed on the Chinese company in May, according to reports.

Two sources close to the matter told Reuters that the Trump administration is planning to issue another 90-day license, which would allow Huawei to continue trading with US-based companies.

The US Commerce Department placed the electronics giant on its 'entities list' earlier this year, over fears that its role in US telecommunications infrastructure could pose a threat to national security.

Its position on the entities list prevents the company from purchasing goods and services from US companies, but the Commerce Department has issued a series of temporary licenses allowing the company to circumvent this restriction following protests from Huawei's US partners.

Two of these temporary 90-day licenses have so far been issued, with the latest set to expire today. The new license would allow Huawei to continue trading with US companies until 16 February next year.

The primary reason for the government's repeated leniency towards Huawei is that the company is a key supplier for rural network operators in the US, commerce secretary Wilbur Ross told Fox Business Network last week, and cutting off access to the company would "knock them out".

Huawei has repeatedly denied any role in aiding the Chinese government against the US, but multiple figures within the US government have remained sceptical, including attorney general William Barr, who has said that Huawei "cannot be trusted".