Huawei says the extension of a temporary licence that allows the company to deal with US companies does not significantly alter the ongoing uncertainty surrounding its business.
Earlier this year, the US Department of Commerce effectively blacklisted the Chinese mobile giant on national security grounds, preventing American firms from doing business with the company.
The ruling limited Huawei’s access to important components and to the Android operating system as well as Google applications.
- What is 5G? Everything you need to know
- Huawei details 5G base station and modem chips
- US has 'no evidence' for claims
Huawei licence
Washington did however give some wiggle room, allowing Huawei to procure technologies from certain suppliers in order to serve US rural operators that use its equipment. This temporary licence was extended for 90 days back in August and was renewed for another 90 days earlier this week.
“Extending the Temporary General License won't have a substantial impact on Huawei's business either way,” Huawei said in a statement. “This decision does not change the fact that Huawei continues to be treated unfairly either.
“We have long held that the decision by the US Department of Commerce to add Huawei to the Entity List has caused more harm to the US than to Huawei. This has done significant economic harm to the American companies with which Huawei does business and has already disrupted collaboration and undermined the mutual trust on which the global supply chain depends. We call on the US government to put an end to this unjust treatment and remove Huawei from the Entity List.”
Huawei has frequently denied any allegations that its products are a security risk, while Washington has produced no evidence of any wrongdoing. Meanwhile, US companies want to be able to do business with the Chinese firm, arguing that the sanctions have cut off a valuable source of revenue.
The American government said it plans to issue licences to firms who want to sell non-sensitive goods to Huawei but has yet to approve any applications.
In a separate development, Huawei now operates an Android bug bounty programme, offering rewards of up to $220,000 for the most significant discoveries. This is more than Google offers through its own programme.
- Here are the best deals for Huawei mobile phones in November 2019
