BIS Issues Temporary General License for Certain Huawei Transactions

The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security is issuing a general license temporarily allowing certain transactions with Huawei and 68 of its affiliates without new licensing requirements set by their recent addition to the Entity List. The general license is scheduled for publication in the May 22 Federal Register, and will remain in effect from May 20 through Aug. 19.

The 90-day temporary general license allows transactions under four conditions. The first condition permits any transactions made on or before May 16 that are necessary to support existing and “fully operational” networks and equipment, such as software updates and patches, and are “subject to legally binding contracts and agreements" executed on or before May 16. The second condition authorizes transactions “necessary to provide service and support, including software updates or patches, to existing Huawei handsets” that were publicly available on or before May 16.

The third condition authorizes the disclosure to Huawei of "information regarding security vulnerabilities in items owned, possessed, or controlled by Huawei" and its affiliates, when related to the process of "providing ongoing security research critical to maintaining the integrity and reliability of existing and currently fully operational networks and equipment, as well as handsets." The fourth allows “engagement” with Huawei related to the development of “5G standards as part of a duly recognized international standards body."

All other transactions not “explicitly authorized” in the general license remain subject to the provisions of Huawei's addition to the entity list, and require a license with a policy of presumption of denial. Transactions that qualify for the general license still have to comply with the provisions of the Export Administration Regulations as they applied to the transaction prior to Huawei's listing on May 16.

Prior to exporting, all exporters must also make a “certification statement” that specifies how the transaction “meets the scope” of the license, the license said. The exporter that created the statement is responsible for retaining it for record-keeping purposes.