White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow responded to criticism of President Trump’s decision to allow Huawei to buy U.S. products. The action was part of a truce the President struck with Chinese President Xi Jimping at the G-20 summit in Japan over the weekend to ease trade war tensions.
President Trump said Saturday, he will allow U.S. companies to sell products to Chinese tech giant Huawei, offering a concession to China following talks with President Xi Jinping.
“U.S. companies can sell their equipment to Huawei,” Trump said at a news conference in Osaka, Japan, the site of the Group of 20 (G20) summit. “We’re talking about equipment where there’s no great national security problem with it,” Trump told CNBC.
Kudlow said the administration has not removed Huawei from the blacklist that largely blocks the company from buying American products. Instead, the Commerce Department will simply grant more licenses to allow U.S. companies to sell products to Huawei, so long as those sales pose no threat to national security, Kudlow said.
“This is not a general amnesty, if you will,” Kudlow told Fox News on Sunday. “Huawei will remain on the so-called entity list where there are serious export controls and in national security inferences or suggestions there won’t be any licenses.” Trump said his administration will meet to more fully discuss the plan.
Congressional Republicans criticized the decision. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said Congress should put restrictions back on Huawei by passing legislation with a, “large veto proof majority,” if Trump rolls them back. Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) told CNBC that Huawei’s presence in the U.S. is like letting in a Trojan Horse.
The blacklist has hurt Huawei. CEO and founder Ren Zhengfei said the company is cutting production and expects a $30 billion hit over the next two years due to the restrictions, Inside Towers reported.
July 2, 2019
Reader Interactions