Biden team weighs fully cutting off Huawei from US suppliers
- Sales from US firms to the Chinese tech giant have been limited for years, but some officials are pushing for a complete ban, insiders say
- Biden is under pressure from Republicans controlling the House to continue squeezing China, particularly to limit the country’s technological advances
The Biden administration is considering cutting off Huawei Technologies Co from all of its American suppliers, including Intel Corp and Qualcomm, as the US government intensifies a crackdown on the Chinese technology sector.
Sales from US firms to Huawei have been limited for four years, since former president Donald Trump added the Shenzhen-based company to the US trade blacklist, called the Entity List, out of national security concerns. US suppliers have since required government approval to sell to the telecommunications equipment giant.
Now, some officials in the Biden administration are advocating for banning all sales to Huawei – long suspected of ties to the Beijing government and Chinese military – as the administration debates whether and how to adjust its licensing policy, according to people familiar with the matter.
The people asked not to be identified because a decision has not been made.
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US charges Chinese spies with interfering in probe into telecom company, likely Huawei
Tensions with China have been rising throughout Joe Biden’s presidency, and he is under pressure from Republicans controlling the House to continue squeezing Beijing, particularly to limit the country’s technological advances.
Last week, the Biden administration persuaded the Netherlands and Japan to join with the US in restricting exports of advanced semiconductor manufacturing machinery to China.