The Trump administration has notified Intel Corp. and other technology companies revoking licenses to do business with Huawei Technologies Co. from China and rejects new license applications, Reuters reported Sunday.
The latest step against Chinese tech companies comes just days before Trump leaves the White House on Wednesday. The US claims that telecom equipment maker Huawei is a threat to national security.
The Trump administration restricted U.S. companies from doing business with Huawei in 2019, but a handful, including Intel INTC,
– he had since been granted special approval to do so.
Citing unnamed sources, Reuters reported that eight licenses have been revoked from four companies and cited an email from the Semiconductor Industry Association on Friday outlining the Commerce Department’s intention to “deny a significant number of sol licensing licenses for exports to Huawei “. Reuters said the vast majority of some 150 pending license applications, worth about $ 120 billion in goods and services, were denied.
The Trump administration has taken punitive action against several Chinese companies in recent months, including a failed attempt to ban TikTok and an executive order that forced the New York Stock Exchange to withdraw China’s three largest telecommunications companies.
It is unclear whether Biden’s incoming administration will continue with restrictions against Chinese companies, and some experts predict that orders could be stopped while the new administration reviews cases.