Decisions on Sales to Huawei Should Come Soon, Says Commerce Official

The Commerce Department is reviewing export license applications to sell to Huawei to “mitigate as much of the negative impacts of the entity listing as possible” and hopes to have decisions “soon,” said Nazak Nikakhtar, Commerce undersecretary-industry and security. Nikakhtar, speaking Tuesday at Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security’s annual export controls conference, briefly discussed Huawei after Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told the conference Huawei won't be removed from BIS’ entity list, confirming July 3 comments from a spokesperson (see 1907050003). Commerce is planning to roll back some restrictions on export licenses to Huawei and evaluate applications based on their U.S. national security impacts. White House Chief Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow said at a Tuesday CNBC event that some Huawei “general merchandise” sales will be permitted. Commerce’s altered approach came from recent feedback from U.S. companies, said Nikakhtar. “We’re moving forward cautiously by recognizing that the right approach is one that allows U.S. businesses to grow while we don’t stifle innovation but importantly while we also protect national security,” she said. President Donald Trump initially made the announcement at the G-20 Summit in Japan, saying the U.S. and China had agreed to resume trade talks (see 1907020060). Nikakhtar said BIS “recognizes the impact our entity listing has on U.S. exporters” and urged companies to make use of the 90-day temporary general license the agency issued in May. She said BIS hopes U.S. industries “consider shifting towards other sources of equipment, software and technology.” Huawei’s inclusion on the entity list “was not taken lightly,” Nikakhtar said. “We should not, nor should we ever, fail to take action because of a company's size or our dependence on export sales.”