(Adds Intel, the background of US efforts on Huawei)
NEW YORK v. WASHINGTON, Jan 17 (Reuters) – The Trump administration has notified several Huawei suppliers, including chip maker Intel, of revoking certain sales licenses to the Chinese company and plans to reject dozens of other applications to provide telecommunications companies , people familiar with the matter, told Reuters.
The lawsuit against Huawei Technologies – probably the latest against the company under the administration of Republican President Donald Trump – is the latest long-term effort to weaken the world’s largest telecommunications equipment maker, which it says poses a threat to national security. and US foreign policy. interest.
The notifications came amid a flurry of US action against China in the last days of the Trump administration. Democrat Joe Biden will be sworn in as president on Wednesday.
An Intel Corp spokesman did not receive any immediate comment, and a Commerce Department spokesman did not immediately return comments.
In an e-mail seen by Reuters documenting the actions, the Semiconductor Industry Association said Friday that the Commerce Department had issued “intentions to deny a significant number of license applications for exports to Huawei and revoke at least one previously issued license.” . Sources familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there were several revocations.
The e-mail stated that the shares covered a “wide range” of semiconductor products and asked companies if they had received notifications.
The e-mail showed that companies were waiting “many months” to make licensing decisions and that there was less than a week left in the administration, managing it was a challenge.
A spokesman for the semiconductor group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The United States placed Huawei on a Commerce Department “list of entities” in May 2019, citing national security concerns, restricting suppliers from selling U.S. goods and technology to the company.
But some sales were allowed and others were denied while the United States lifted restrictions against the company, including expanding U.S. authority to apply for licenses to sell semiconductors abroad with U.S. technology.
Prior to the most recent action, about 150 licenses were pending for $ 120 billion worth of goods and technology, said a person familiar with the matter, who was detained because various U.S. agencies could not agree with regarding their granting.
Reporting by Karen Freifeld and Alexandra Alper; edited by Chris Sanders and Jonathan Oatis