Washington grants blacklisted Huawei 45-day license extension

The Trump administration has announced it will extend a license allowing US companies to continue doing business with China’s Huawei Technologies until May 15. The previous license was set to expire on April 1.

The US Commerce Department, which has issued a series of extensions to the temporary license, said the licenses allow rural carriers to continue to service customers in some of the most remote areas of the United States.

The department sought public comments on whether it should issue future extensions, asking about the “impact on your company or organization if the temporary general license is not extended.” It has also asked about the costs associated with ending the licenses.

In May, Huawei and 70 of its affiliates were added to a US trade blacklist due to nonspecific concerns over “national security threats.” The Trump administration has warned its allies that Beijing was using backdoors in Huawei technology to spy, a charge both the company and the Chinese government deny. The US also urged foreign governments to bar Huawei from building 5G networks. So far, the UK and EU have ruled in defiance of the pressure from Washington to ban Huawei.

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