The US has revoked the license to sell laptop chips and handheld devices to Intel and Qualcomm’s Huawei Technologies, according to Reuters.
On May 7, the US Department of Commerce confirmed that it had revoked a number of export licenses but did not name the companies. “We have revoked a number of export licenses for Huawei,” the US Department of Commerce said in a statement, declining to specify which licenses were revoked.
There are four separate sources from Reuters revealing that these are licenses granted to Intel and Qualcomm to sell laptop chips and handheld devices.
The move comes after Huawei launched its first AI-powered laptop MateBook X Pro, powered by Intel’s new Core Ultra 9 processor, last month. This product has attracted criticism from Republican lawmakers, claiming that the US Department of Commerce gave the green light for Intel to sell chips to Huawei.
An Intel spokesman declined to comment. Meanwhile, Qualcomm and Huawei did not respond to Reuters.
Republican lawmakers voiced their support. “This action will strengthen national security, protect American innovation and reduce China’s ability to develop technology,” Republican congressman Elise Stefanik declared.
Huawei logo at a store in Shenzhen electronics market, China, April 2024. Image: Luu Quy
Huawei could be harmed because it still relies on Intel chips for laptops. At the same time, American suppliers doing business with this company also suffered losses. Intel is facing weak demand for its chips for data centers and PCs. Last month, Intel’s capitalization evaporated by $11 billion, after forecasting second-quarter revenue and profits were lower than expectations.
Huawei was placed on the US trade restrictions list in 2019 for security reasons. Therefore, suppliers to this company need a special license from the US to trade.
Over the years, American companies have still received licenses to sell billions of dollars in goods and technology to Huawei. Particularly controversial is the license issued by the Trump administration, approving Intel to supply central processors to Huawei for use in laptops starting in 2020.
Qualcomm has a license to sell older generation 4G chips to Huawei in 2020. In a regulatory filing earlier this month, the company did not expect additional chip revenue from Huawei after this year.
However, Qualcomm is still licensed to do business in 5G technology with Huawei. Qualcomm said its patent agreement with Huawei will expire in Qualcomm’s fiscal year 2025 and has begun negotiations to extend it.
Critics say such licenses have contributed to Huawei’s resurgence. In August 2023, the company caused a stir when it launched a new phone equipped with a sophisticated chip produced by Chinese chip manufacturer SMIC, despite US export restrictions.
According to research company Counterpoint, this phone has helped Huawei’s smartphone sales in the first 6 weeks of 2024 increase by 64% compared to the same period in 2023. Smart car components business also prospered, with sales growth Fall 2023 is the fastest in the past 4 years.