US chip makers, including Qualcomm and Intel, quietly lobby Washington to ease Huawei ban
- Executives from US chip suppliers attended meeting with Commerce Department to discuss response to Huawei being placed on government blacklist
- Out of US$70 billion that Chinese telecoms giant spent buying components last year, US$11 billion went to US firms
Huawei’s American chip suppliers, including Qualcomm and Intel, are quietly pressing the US government to ease its ban on sales to the Chinese tech giant, even as Huawei itself avoids typical government lobbying, people familiar with the situation said.
Executives from top US chip makers Intel and Xilinx attended a meeting in late May with the US Commerce Department to discuss a response to Huawei’s placement on the blacklist, one person said.
The ban bars US suppliers from selling to Huawei, the world’s largest telecommunications equipment company, without special approval, because of what the government said were national security issues.
Qualcomm has also pressed the US Commerce Department over the issue, four people said.
Chip makers argue that Huawei units selling products such as smartphones and computer servers use commonly available parts and are unlikely to present the same security concerns as the Chinese technology firm’s 5G networking gear, according to three people.