Reuters: US allows US companies to supply car parts chips to Huawei

Companies are said to have received permission from the US to supply chips for car parts to Huawei. These are chips for screens and sensors, among other things. These chips are said to be less advanced and are therefore not covered by the US trade ban.

Reuters writes on the basis of anonymous sources that the US government has approved several requests in recent months to be able to supply chips to Huawei. These chips would be intended for Huawei’s auto components division, a branch that would grow since the trade ban imposed against Huawei.

The trade ban covers components that could be harmful to the security or “interests” of the United States, which means that chips for 5G devices cannot be supplied to Huawei. Cars may contain 5G network equipment, which would mean that cars would also fall under this ban. However, the automotive chips are seen as less advanced, which would be the reason that companies do receive permission to supply these chips to Huawei.

The deals are said to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The US government does not provide information about which chips may or may not be supplied. Huawei also did not want to provide additional information about this, but says it is positioning itself as a new supplier for ‘intelligent connected cars’. For this, the company would have concluded agreements with at least three Chinese car manufacturers. It is also working on its own car, together with the car manufacturer Seres.