[The Epoch Times, March 01, 2023](Epoch Times reporter Lin Yan comprehensive report) U.S. officials said on Tuesday (February 28) that the Biden administration is evaluating revoking existing export licenses to Chinese telecom giant Huawei. It is part of a move by the United States to further tighten technology trade with China, citing national security concerns, which could end Huawei.
The Biden administration is currently “evaluating” whether to revoke a Trump administration policy that allows U.S. companies to ship some less-than-“5G-level” technology to blacklisted Huawei. The U.S. government has been concerned that Huawei is a Chinese outpost that could give Beijing access to sensitive U.S. information that travels through telecommunications networks.
Alan Estevez, the undersecretary of commerce for export control policy, told a congressional hearing on Tuesday that a licensing rule imposed on Huawei by the previous administration was still in effect, allowing the sale of sub-5G and low-end products. technology at the cloud level.
“I would say that all of these matters are being assessed,” he said.
News: White House rumored to tell Commerce Department to end Huawei
The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter, that the latest proposed move by the Biden administration would go a step further by considering revoking existing licenses to Huawei.
The Biden administration previously said it was considering not issuing any new export (Huawei’s) licenses to chip companies such as Qualcomm and Intel. The action will cover 5G technology products, as well as older 4G products.
“Despite the Entity List, policies that allow exports to Huawei are being scaled back,” said a former senior security official familiar with the administration’s policy deliberations. The White House is now telling the Commerce Department that ‘cutting off 4G sales is now a way to inflict more pain on Huawei. Time to try to end Huawei.’”
Between November 2020 and April 2021, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) approved Huawei licenses worth $61.4 billion, according to 2021 data released by Rep. Michael McCaul. Billions of dollars in revenue could be affected if existing licenses are canceled. Export licenses typically last for several years and specify the value of products a company is allowed to ship under the license.
Revoking existing licenses could have a major impact on U.S. chipmakers, many of which already have licenses to continue selling older-generation mobile phone chips and other processors widely used around the world to Huawei.
Chip companies argue that restrictions on such products would be detrimental to U.S. industry by reducing their revenue streams to fund domestic research and development.
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, which Estevez administers, approves about 70 percent of export-control license applications involving China in 2022, according to testimony Estevez provided to Congress in advance.
Security Expert: Even Selling Old Chips Could Be Used in the Military
Some security analysts say the older generation of chips could still be used in the military, including in precision-guided bombs. The fact that chips are still flowing into Russia through China despite U.S. export controls that prohibit their supply has highlighted military security concerns.
Some industry officials said the Biden administration may be considering the Huawei supply ban as leverage in broader negotiations with Beijing, including on trade and national security.
Clay Lowery, a former senior national security official now at the Institute of International Finance, said pressure on Beijing to reduce its economic support to Russia would be difficult.
Ravi testified Tuesday before the Senate Banking Committee on export controls. The Trump administration also considered revoking existing licenses when it added Huawei to the Entity List in 2019, the former official said.
In the end, the White House ruled out the move because of concerns from the Treasury Department over the potential fallout from the move — including potential retaliation from Beijing and the loss of revenue chipmakers need to fund research and development, he said.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is currently on a visit to Central Asia, publicly stated on Tuesday, “When it comes to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, China cannot offer a peace proposal on the one hand, but on the other hand actually contribute to the war provoked by Russia.”
“We did warn the Chinese very clearly about the implications and consequences of providing such support,” Blinken said. “For example, we would not hesitate to punish Chinese companies or individuals who violate our sanctions or otherwise support Russia’s war effort.”
Blinken also said that he had directly mentioned this issue when he met Wang Yi, the top diplomat of the Chinese Communist Party, during the Munich Security Conference. He hoped that China would take the US warning seriously, otherwise it would bring serious problems to US-China relations.
Responsible editor: Lin Yan#