US partially lifts restrictions on Huawei as Trump-Xi talk trade

WASHINGTON, (Reuters): President Donald Trump's decision to allow expanded sales of US technology supplies to Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei will only apply to products widely available around the world, and leave the most sensitive equipment off-limits, a top White House aide said on Sunday. 

“All that is going to happen is Commerce will grant some additional licenses where there is a general availability of the parts the company needs,” National Economic Council Chairman Larry Kudlow said on Fox News Sunday. “US microchip firms in particular are selling products that are widely available from other countries...This not a general amnesty...The national security concerns will remain paramount,” he said. 

The partial lifting of restrictions on Huawei was a key element of the agreement reached over the weekend between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to reopen stalled trade negotiations between the two countries. 

It has drawn bipartisan criticism from US Senators concerned that Huawei has close ties to Chinese intelligence agencies that could exploit the global distribution of its technology. 

“There will be a lot of pushback if it is a major concession to Huawei,” South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsay Graham said on Meet the Press. 

Huawei, the world's biggest telecommunications equipment maker and number two smartphone maker, denies its products pose a security threat and has sought to fight back in US courts since Washington put it on an export blacklist last month. Kudlow said that designation would remain. 

Kudlow said the broader concerns about Huawei will be part of the renewed discussions. 

The agreement over the weekend “is not the last word,” Kudlow said.

An AFP report that the United States and China pursue trade talks, there is a “good chance” that more US firms will be granted licenses to sell products to controversial Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow said Sunday. 

Kudlow's comments came after President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping agreed on Saturday to a truce in their trade war, and Washington pledged to hold off on new tariffs while they negotiate. 

While Trump had signalled the softer position on Huawei, a sticking point in trade talks, by saying US companies could sell equipment “where there's no great national security problem,” Kudlow added a bit of detail. 

“If President Trump has agreed to reverse recent sanctions against Huawei, he has made a catastrophic mistake,” Rubio tweeted Saturday. 

Kudlow emphasised that Huawei will remain on the so-called US Entity List -- foreign companies and individuals that are subject to specific export and technology transfer licensing requirements. 

“This is not a general amnesty,” Kudlow said. 

“The Commerce Department will grant some temporary additional licenses where there is a general availability of the products to be sold,” he added. 

In a later interview on CBS talk show Face the Nation, Kudlow said, “We understand the huge risks regarding Huawei.” On the general issue of US-China trade talks, Kudlow declined to offer any deadline for the resolution of the dispute between the world's top two economies, though he admitted the talks could “go on for quite some time.” 

“There are no promises, there's no deal made, no timetable,” he said. “Just resuming the talks... is a very big deal. “