If American tech is used to design or make that chip, you better not ship it to Huawei, warns Uncle Sam
- Reference: 1589589297
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/05/16/huawei_chip_ban_latest/
- Source link:
Last year, the Chinese telecoms kit maker, along with its chip wing HiSilicon and 113 subsidiaries, were [1]blacklisted by the US Department of Commerce on the grounds of national security. Specifically, Huawei was placed on the Bureau of Industry and Security’s (BIS) Entity List, preventing the manufacturer from obtaining American-made components, software, and other technology from US organizations.
Now, Uncle Sam is cracking down further. “BIS is amending its longstanding foreign-produced direct product rule and the Entity List to narrowly and strategically target Huawei’s acquisition of semiconductors that are the direct product of certain US software and technology,” a [2]statement reads.
Essentially, chips manufactured overseas using US software or hardware cannot be shipped to Huawei or any of its subsidiaries without Uncle Sam's permission. That means that even if the semiconductors were commissioned or designed by Huawei and manufactured by foundries outside of the States, the chips will still be subject to export limits if the manufacturing processes use any US equipment or design tools. That blocks Huawei from placing the system-on-chips and other integrated circuits in its own products, such as phones and tablets.
Donald Trump extends ban on Huawei, ZTE telecoms kit in US companies to May 2021 [3]READ MORE
This even affects TSMC, which makes chips for Huawei and just [4]promised to build a 5nm semiconductor factory in Arizona. There will be a 120-day grace period before the new rules kick in.
“Despite the Entity List actions the department took last year, Huawei and its foreign affiliates have stepped-up efforts to undermine these national security-based restrictions through an indigenization effort,” said US Security of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “This is not how a responsible global corporate citizen behaves. We must amend our rules exploited by Huawei and HiSilicon and prevent US technologies from enabling malign activities contrary to US national security and foreign policy interests.”
The move comes just after President Donald Trump [5]extended an executive order banning US companies from buying or using any telecoms and networking equipment from Huawei and ZTE, another Chinese manufacturer. The order uses the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which allows the US government to exert more control over ongoing alleged national security risks.
Beijing is, of course, [6]reportedly poised to put American companies on an “unreliable entity list” in response to this latest crackdown. The ongoing tit-for-tat trade war between the US and China has hit a new level, it seems. ®
[1] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/05/15/president_trump_huawei_emergency_ban/
[2] https://www.commerce.gov/news/press-releases/2020/05/commerce-addresses-huaweis-efforts-undermine-entity-list-restricts
[3] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/05/14/trump_extends_huawei_ban_for/
[4] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/05/15/tsmc_to_build_new_5nm_fab_in_usa/
[5] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/05/14/trump_extends_huawei_ban_for/
[6] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-huawei-tech-exclusive/exclusive-us-moves-to-cut-huawei-off-from-global-chip-suppliers-idUSKBN22R1KC
China will become self sufficient in tech
It is already one of their priorities.
Then generally they will diverge, and there will be less interplay and communication between east and west.
Is that a good thing? Hard to say.
Xi Jinping is certainly potentially dangerous, but isolating him also isolates the Chinese people from western liberal thought.
What is frightening is that the Trump administration is quite incapable of thinking these sort of strategic issues through.
I can see this going well....
"Essentially, chips manufactured overseas using US software or hardware cannot be shipped to Huawei or any of its subsidiaries without Uncle Sam's permission. That means that even if the semiconductors were commissioned or designed by Huawei and manufactured by foundries outside of the States, the chips will still be subject to export limits if the manufacturing processes use any US equipment or design tools. "
Between the mess that is the USPTO when it comes to patents and its relation (ahem) to other patenting agencies elsewhere in the world, corporate cross-licensing, and corporate presence demands, what exactly is "US software or hardware" ? Or is "the US" trying to Claim it All if there's even a shred of "US technology" in a production/supply line? That'll go down well...
And with the way this is stated, well after the fact as well.. This would apply to machines/production lines that may well have been built/ordered years ago...
I can see this one turning to Interesting Times if they're really going to put their foot down on this. And not for Huawei or ZTE.
Globalization: Who's fault is that?
When the US spearheaded globalization they handed the "keys", lock-stock-and-barrels, to China. Because the US no longer manufactures, the schools, colleges and universities stopped churning out graduates that once provided the backbone and lifeblood to the US manufacturing "might".
The late Steve Jobs summed it all when he had dinner with then US President Obama (original article [1]HERE or [2]HERE ):
He called America's lackluster education system an obstacle for Apple, which needed 30,000 industrial engineers to support its on-site factory workers."
"You can't find that many in America to hire," Jobs told the president. "If you could educate these engineers, we could move more manufacturing plants here."
And we all know how much the current and previous "get along".
The US sold the "goose that lay the golden egg" and now it wants it back.
Like with Apple's announcement (opening a manufacturing plant in Texas), I'll wait for the TSMC factory to produce chips (in commercial quantity) before believing.
One last bit, remember this article: [3]A tale of Apple, the iPhone, and overseas manufacturing ? China has set a very high "standard" of expectation that no American manufacturing can match: When Apple revamped the design of the iPhone's screen at the last minute, a foreman (one person!) woke up 8000 workers in the middle of the night with nothing but a fookin' biscuit and a cup of tea . Overtime? Nadda. How about a biscuit (only one) and a cup of tea instead? Try doing that sort of stunt in the US and the mighty labor union will be all over you like an itch in places you can't scratch.
[1] https://money.cnn.com/2012/10/17/technology/apple-china-jobs/
[2] https://www.businessinsider.com.au/when-steves-jobs-and-barack-obama-dined-2015-1?nojs=1
[3] https://www.cnet.com/news/a-tale-of-apple-the-iphone-and-overseas-manufacturing/
Also Microsoft
Huawei still makes laptops with Microsoft installed on them. A lot of Chinese companies do, you should also block Microsoft from selling to those companies. I think its terrible that Microsoft are allowed to bypass the restriction and supply China!
And Microsoft products are also on Huawei's app store, Skype lite, MS Office, Bing, all these breaking sanctions. And of course Microsoft Windows is being used to design chips for Huawei in China, so Microsoft are in violation of this if they don't put a stop to that!
OK, I'm being disingenuous, my Huawei TabPro is slightly easier to remove the Baidu spyware than the Google spyware. The few chips that came from the USA (wifi filters etc.) they replaced. So from my point of view USA cannot make an Android Tablet without China, but China apparently can make an Android Tablet without USA. I'd also like a PC without Microsoft, and this pushes China to do that too.
Don't let the door hit you on the way out of global trade!
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@"That means that even if the semiconductors were commissioned or designed by Huawei and manufactured by foundries outside of the States, the chips will still be subject to export limits if the manufacturing processes use any US equipment or design tools"
Europe of course didn't follow USA in this sanction. China has its own foundaries, and TSMC is a Taiwan based foundary, they won't follow this rule either. They will however probably cancel that Arizona chip manufacturing plant to avoid this liability:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2020-05-15/tsmc-plans-12-billion-u-s-chip-plant-in-arizona-video
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As an aside.
Look, I see you're doing the "China China China" thing. Trump is trying to distract while opening up plague states. You know what he's doing and what their planning is really really really bad. I get he's trying to work up hate against China to distract from his actions, I don't get why you're complicit in it.
UK Chatham House think tank (John Major et al) is doing its "China Covid recovery is all fake news". etc.. to try to help that. The problem with that game is lots of countries are also successful with quarantine, are they also lying? Is New Zealand lying? Is Vietnam? Thailand? Japan? France? Germany?.... OK, so that's a lost cause, if China was lying they would have tens of millions of bodies to hide. And the problem with Chatham House trying to help in that lie, is that he's pushing states to open up before they're clear of Covid. So they will have a second wave, and you will be complicit in that.
The UK-US special relationship is between the UK *people* and the USA *people*, not the guy they didn't vote for. Just because he needs to distract Americans from the death toll he's about to hit them with, doesn't mean you have to help hide the bodies.