Huawei Describes Recent US Move As 'Arbitrary' But Vows To Comply With The Rules

Huawei Technologies described on Monday the U.S.’s move to restrict the company’s access to global chip supplies as “arbitrary,” but said it would comply with the new rules nonetheless.

Last Friday, the U.S. Commerce Department moved to expand U.S. authority to require licenses for all semiconductor shipments to Huawei. The move came a year after the Department included Huawei in its “entity list” and labeled the Chinese company as a threat to national security, following Washington’s accusations that the company had breached U.S. sanctions on Iran.

On Monday, Huawei Chairman Guo Ping said in his keynote speech at the company’s annual global analyst summit that the recent move would significantly impact their business. He also described the new decision as “arbitrary and pernicious, and threatens to undermine the entire industry worldwide.”

“Huawei categorically opposes the amendments made by the U.S. Department of Commerce to its foreign direct product rule that target Huawei specifically,” said Huawei. The company also claimed Washington’s decision to include Huawei in its entity list last year was done without any proper justification.

According to Guo, survival is Huawei’s keyword at present. The company reportedly spent $18.7 billion purchasing from U.S. suppliers in 2019 and would continue to purchase from them if the U.S. government would allow it. Guo acknowledged, however, that while their customers have stood by them amid the ordeal, it has become harder for them to win contracts because of their inclusion in the Commerce Department’s entity list.

Guo revealed that since Huawei was included in the list, the company has had to rewrite up to 60 million lines of code and invest in more than 15,000 man-years in R&D in its bid to deal with the pressures of the U.S. government. Now that the government has proceeded with the new rules against Huawei, the smartphone maker finds itself caught up in the ongoing clash between U.S. and China over global technological dominance.