Trump's final madness:
With three days left in office, the Trump administration has informed several Huawei suppliers, including chipmaker Intel, that it will revoke certain licenses to sell products to the Chinese company and intends to reject dozens of other applications to supply the telecommunications company, Reuters reported exclusively on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The Semiconductor Industry Association reportedly said on Friday that the U.S. Commerce Department had issued "an intent to deny license applications for substantial exports to Huawei and revoke at least one previously issued license."
A person familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the government had revoked eight licenses from four companies.
The reports noted that the notices came amid a flurry of moves against China in the final days of the Trump administration. U.S. President-elect Joe Biden will take the oath of office on January 20.
An Intel spokesman had no immediate comment, the report said. A Commerce Department spokesman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
The latest crackdown on Chinese tech companies comes after the Trump administration last week added nine Chinese companies to its list of military-owned or controlled enterprises (MEUs), just two days before Trump steps down and Democratic President Joe Biden is sworn in as the new US President on Wednesday. It was also seen as a last-ditch effort by Trump to cement his legacy.
1. According to an email obtained by Reuters, the Semiconductor Industry Association said on Friday local time that the U.S. Commerce Department had issued an "intent to deny license applications for substantial exports to Huawei and revoke at least one previously issued license." More than one license has been revoked, said a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity. Another source said eight licenses had been withdrawn from four companies.
2, Kioxia Corp, a Japanese maker of flash memory chips, has had at least one of its licenses revoked, two sources said.
3. About 150 permits were in the pipeline before the administration's latest action, but the Trump administration rejected most of them, involving $120 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. An additional $280 billion in Huawei goods and technology licenses have yet to be processed. They were held up because American agencies could not agree on whether they should be granted, but now face a higher chance of rejection.
In the email, the Semiconductor Association said the actions covered a "wide range of products" in the semiconductor industry and asked whether the companies involved had been notified.
The email noted that companies have been waiting "many months" for permission applications to be approved, and with the Trump administration less than a week into its final term, a "rejection" would be a likely event
It is understood that companies applying for licences have a 20-day response time after receiving a notification of "intent to deny", while the US Department of Commerce has 45 days to inform companies of any changes in the decision, or they will become final. The companies would then have 45 days to appeal.
Intel, Kai Xia and a spokesman for the U.S. Commerce Department did not immediately respond.