Google to ban Huawei’s access to Android

Huawei’s consumer business has been dealt a potentially devastating blow to its future prospects after US president Donald Trump formally added the vendor to a list of companies that American companies cannot trade with if they don’t obtain a license.

Huawei was added to the entity list of banned companies covered by the national emergency Trump declared last week, which gave him the power to regulate commerce to ostensibly protect national security.

In the wake of Huawei being added to the list, Google has barred Huawei from receiving some updates to Android, announcing that it is “complying with the order and reviewing the implications”.

US Chipmakers including Intel, Qualcomm, and Broadcom also reportedly told employees that they will cease supplying Huawei until further notice.

But the US Commerce Department has subsequently issued a three-month exemption allowing Huawei to continue to purchase and access American products in order to maintain existing networks and provide software updates to existing devices.

The exemption will not Huawei to purchase US components for new products. On the bright side for Huawei, the Commerce Department has announced it may extend the exemption further than the initial 90 days.

In various communications including one sent to Globe Telecom in the Philippines, Huawei has pledged to continue providing security updates and after-sales services for its devices.

Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei has meanwhile taken a bullish stance over the impact of the ban, telling Japanese media that the company’s growth “may slow, but only slightly.”

The vendor had been anticipating the ban for some time, and has been investing in producing homegrown chips and further developing its own operating system in preparation.

Ren has rejected the prospect of building manufacturing facilities in the US – even if the government asks Huawei to.