The US Department of Commerce on Monday issued what it called “limited exemptions on Huawei products,” a move designed to allow companies to adjust to the abrupt decision last week to place the Chinese firm on an export blacklist.
“The Temporary General License grants operators time to make other arrangements and the Department space to determine the appropriate long term measures for Americans and foreign telecommunications providers that currently rely on Huawei equipment for critical services,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement.
The temporary license is effective May 20 and will last for 90 days.
“In short, this license will allow operations to continue for existing Huawei mobile phone users and rural broadband networks,” he said.
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security said in an official filing that it has modified the status of Huawei’s entry on its “Entity List,” to add the license, temporarily allowing “engagement in transactions, involving the export, reexport, and transfer” of items that had been subject to the export ban.
While industry experts widely expected the administration of President Donald Trump to grant licenses to continue conducting business with Huawei in certain cases, the sudden rollout of the new policy on Friday left US firms with little choice but to announce they were cutting ties with Huawei.
Google announced on Monday that it was suspending Android services that Huawei relies on for its smartphones, a move that analysts said could have dire consequences for a company that has had a breakout year in overseas smartphone sales.