U.S. Firms Get 90-Day Extension To Work With Huawei On Rural Networks

Updated at 2:25 p.m. ET

The Trump administration is giving American companies three more months to do business with the Chinese telecom giant Huawei, the Commerce Department said Monday.

It is the third time the U.S. has extended a reprieve, which is meant to help ease disruption for Huawei customers. Many Internet and cellphone carriers in rural parts of the U.S. buy networking equipment from Huawei, and the temporary extension means they can keep their networks up to date.

"The Temporary General License extension will allow carriers to continue to service customers in some of the most remote areas of the United States who would otherwise be left in the dark," said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in a statement.

Huawei said in a statement that extending the temporary license "won't have a substantial impact on Huawei's business either way. This decision does not change the fact that Huawei continues to be treated unfairly."

The company repeated its call for the U.S. to remove it from the blacklist, known as the "Entity List." Huawei said the move "has caused significant economic harm to the American companies with which Huawei does business, disrupted collaboration and undermined the mutual trust on which the global supply chain depends."

The U.S. first blacklisted Huawei in May amid an escalating trade war with China. American firms are barred from selling to or buying products to companies on the list owing to national security concerns.

The Trump administration is worried that Huawei and other big Chinese companies could be spying for Beijing or stealing intellectual property from U.S. firms. Huawei denies the allegations and says the U.S. has given no evidence that the company presents a threat. [Copyright 2019 NPR]