Huawei has just been granted a further 45-day reprieve. The Chinese group's U.S. partners now have until May 15, 2020 to find alternatives to its equipment and technologies. This is already the fifth reprieve granted by the United States since Trump's executive order in May 2019.
On Tuesday, March 11, 2020, the Trump administration granted Huawei a new 45-day reprieve to collaborate with U.S.-based firms, Reuters reports. A previous temporary licence had already been issued until 1 April 2020. A few months earlier, a 90-day reprieve had been declared by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Some U.S. operators are still dependent on Huawei's equipment
Many U.S. rural telecommunications operators still depend on network equipment provided by Huawei to cover the least populated areas of the territory. In these circumstances, the Commerce Department is therefore forced to roll back the deadline once again. A further reprieve could be issued in May if U.S. business leaders have not yet found alternatives to Huawei products. The government says it does not want to penalize the most rural areas of the country. For now, the United States does not yet seem capable of implementing the drastic measures of Trump's executive order, nearly a year after its enactment.
However, there are other indications that Huawei's reprieve is coming to an end. A few days ago, the FCC, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, launched a refund program to help rural operators replace the network infrastructure provided by Huawei with alternatives. The agency is currently gathering information to enable a "smooth transition." In these circumstances, it is not impossible for Washington to stop granting deadlines to Huawei's U.S. partners in the coming months.
Read also: Huawei expects smartphone sales to collapse in 2020 due to sanctions
Still blacklisted, Huawei is not yet recovering its Android license. Despite Google's complaints, Washington still prohibits the Chinese group from relying on U.S.-origin technologies. However, the government has been granting waivers to the drip count in recent months. For example, Micron has been allowed to supply memory chips to Huawei since late December.
At the same time, Huawei has accelerated the development of its alternatives to U.S. solutions and Google's services. For example, the firm has launched the deployment of Huawei Mobile Services in Europe. What do you think of this umpteenth reprieve? Will the United States eventually implement Donald Trump's measures? We are waiting for your opinion in the comments.
Source: Reuters