In June, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a rule permitting limited sharing of some export-controlled technology with Chinese telecom giant Huawei in the context of international efforts to establish technical standards for 5G and other new technologies. This action aims to ensure U.S. industry’s ability to contribute more fully to standards-development activities in the telecommunications sector.
In 2019, BIS added Huawei and its affiliates to the Entity List because it believed Huawei posed a significant risk to our national security or foreign policy interests. The Entity List is a published list of names of foreign persons – including businesses, research institutions, government and private organizations, individuals, and other types of legal persons – subject to specific license requirements for the export, re-export, and transfer (in-country) of specified items. Since then, U.S. companies can’t provide any goods, software, or technology to Huawei without an export license.
The June rule revises the Huawei export controls to allow U.S. companies to disclose certain technology to Huawei when such disclosure is for changing or developing technical standards. BIS is accepting comments on the rule through August 17. Click here to submit feedback or find out more information.
Even with the relaxation regarding standards, the U.S. is keeping the pressure on our allies to shut Huawei out of the installation of new 5G wireless networks throughout the Western family of nations. On July 14, Boris Johnson announced that the U.K. would ban equipment from Huawei from the country’s high-speed wireless network. The following day, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the State Department will impose visa restrictions on certain employees of Huawei and other Chinese technology companies that provide material support to regimes engaging in human rights violations and abuses.
