Huawei has been suffering for years from the US ban on dealing with it, as several US companies cut off dealings with it, while the rest of the companies need permits from the government before supplying them with equipment, and now the Biden government is considering imposing a complete ban on dealing with Huawei.
This information comes from the latest reports published by the British newspaper Bloomberg, where the source says that some senior officials in the Biden government are defending the idea of banning all US sales to Huawei.
Sales from US companies to Huawei have been limited for four years, since former President Donald Trump added Shenzhen, Huawei's China-based parent company, to the US's so-called "entity list" over national security concerns. Since then, US suppliers have been seeking government approval to sell the telecom giant's equipment.
Now, a source familiar with the matter stated that several officials, whose names have not been disclosed, are calling for a complete ban on all dealings with Huawei.
This will cut off the Chinese company's relationship with all of its American suppliers, including Intel Corp. and Qualcomm Inc.
Tensions with China have escalated throughout Joe Biden's presidency, and he is under pressure from Republicans in control of the House of Representatives to maintain pressure on Beijing, particularly to limit the country's technological advances.
And last week, the Biden administration persuaded the Netherlands and Japan to join the United States in restricting exports of advanced semiconductor manufacturing machinery to China.
Huawei was once one of the world's largest buyers of electronic components and a very important part of the supply chain due to its position in the manufacture of phones and networking equipment.
Trump's ban on certain sales has wiped out huge amounts of revenue for US companies doing business with Huawei, including Broadcom Inc.
The Biden government's decision will affect Huawei's relationship with these companies
But the Ministry of Commerce continued to allow the supply of some other products to Huawei. Under the new policy advocated by some officials, all license applications to supply the company will be denied.
Intel and Advanced Micro Devices Inc supply Huawei with the processors it uses in its Mate line of laptops, while Qualcomm sells the processors to Huawei and the modems that are the core components of its dwindling smartphone range.
Spokespeople for the National Security Council and the Commerce Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Representatives for Intel, Qualcomm, and AMD declined to comment.
It's not clear when the administration can act on the policy change, the people familiar with the matter said. They cautioned that the discussions were at an early stage, and some said the timing of the decision could coincide with the fourth anniversary of Huawei's addition to the entity list in May.
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