Intel Reportedly Holds Onto Huawei Supply License Following Attempted Intervention

[T0@st]

A 2019-signed export license has allowed Intel to supply laptop processors to Huawei, under an exclusive deal—this US Government approved arrangement was not viewed favorably by AMD. The rival chipmaker apparently missed out on the securing of a similar trade license back in 2021. According to a new Reuters report, Team Red and a handful of supporters have attempted to revoke Intel's license—worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Two anonymous sources allege that: "Intel has survived an effort to halt chip sales to Huawei...giving one of the world's largest chipmakers more time to sell to the heavily sanctioned Chinese telecoms company." Intel and Huawei's symbiosis is set to end later this year—folks on the inside reckon that the current US administration will not approve a renewal. Reports suggest that Qualcomm is not anticipating a renewal either—Huawei is an approved buyer of Snapdragon chips, but industry whispers indicate an eventual shift to in-house fare.

Intel, Huawei, US Commerce Department and the White House have declined to comment on the aforementioned scenario. Reuters also sent a query to AMD, but the publication did not receive a response. Earlier last year, a government official revealed that "Huawei's licensing policy" was under review, alongside a general push to scrap a number of trade deals. According to insiders, the same government official allegedly told companies—in private—that the US Commerce Department would fix "the licensing discrepancy." Another anonymous source believes that the agency shelved these plans late last year, for reasons unknown—they stressed that there is potential for a revival. Given the upcoming expiry of Intel and Huawei's arrangement—within the year—it makes little sense to implement a drastic change.



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[user556]

Ah, this'll be a big reason Intel have been trumpeting a huge lead in sales of late.

 

[remixedcat]

seagate sold stuff to huawei too when there was supposed to be sanctions.

In October 2021, a report by U.S. Senate Republicans claimed that Seagate violated Export Administration Regulations by selling parts and components to Huawei following U.S. sanctions against the Chinese telecommunications company.[98] The company received another letter in August 2022 from the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) for allegedly violating export sanctions to sell Huawei hard drives. Seagate denied any violations claiming that its foreign-made hard drives are not subject to the restriction since the disks and the equipment to make them were not a direct product of any American semiconductor technology or software.[99][72] In April 2023, Seagate reached a settlement agreement with the Department agreeing to pay $300 million—the largest civil penalty imposed by the BIS—for selling over 7.4 million hard drives to Huawei without BIS authorization. The resolution also included three stages of audits focusing on its export controls compliance program and a suspended denial order.