Huawei is able to do business with US companies for another 90 days.
Angela Lang/CNET
The US Commerce Department for the third time has extended a temporary license that lets American companies do business with Huawei. This 90-day reprieve for the embattled Chinese telecom follows the first one in May and the second in August.
The department blacklisted Huawei following a May executive order from President Donald Trump that effectively banned the company from US communications networks. It required US companies to get a license to do business with Huawei, which faces national security concerns due to its cozy relationship with the Chinese government.
“The Temporary General License extension will allow carriers to continue to service customers in some of the most remote areas of the United States who would otherwise be left in the dark,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a release. “The Department will continue to rigorously monitor sensitive technology exports to ensure that our innovations are not harnessed by those who would threaten our national security.”
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Even with the extension, it won’t help Huawei with the biggest challenge created by the ban — the loss of Google apps on its latest phones. Google parent company Alphabet revoked Huawei’s Android license, and the company has been forced to resort to an open-source version of the operating system.
An exec said it’ll be years before HarmonyOS, Huawei’s replacement operating system, will be able to match the search giant’s suite of services.
Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, raised concerns about the extension via a series of tweets Monday afternoon.
“If President Trump and his Commerce Department agree that Huawei is a national security threat, they should start acting like it,” he said. “Every day President Trump is soft on Huawei, the Chinese Communist Party takes that as a signal that they can continue hurting American jobs and threatening our national security without any repercussions.”
Huawei didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the extension.
Originally published Nov. 18, 4:39 a.m. PT.
Update, 9:07 a.m.: Adds Commerce Department confirmation; 1:19 p.m.: Adds statement from Schumer.