US chipmaker Nvidia Corp’s plans to sell technology to China’s Huawei Technologies Co (華為) would be thwarted if the US government proceeds with a proposal to further restrict shipments to the blacklisted company, a draft report by a US government contractor shows.
The administration of US President Joe Biden has been considering limiting the items it authorizes US companies to ship to telecoms equipment giant Huawei, which was added to a US trade blacklist in 2019, but which continues to receive billions of US dollars in US goods under a special plan implemented by the administration of former US president Donald Trump.
“The proposed 2023 amendment of [the US Department of Commerce’s] licensing will likely have a high economic impact on Nvidia,” a draft report seen by Reuters said, referring to the company’s “pending license value.”
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Nvidia’s plans to sell to Huawei have not been previously reported.
“The China market presents a significant opportunity for the US semiconductor industry. While we are unable to comment on any pending license requests, we work with customers and partners worldwide to comply with all applicable export controls and meet market demand,” a Nvidia spokesperson said, declining to comment on the document.
A senior US Department of State official said the document was a preliminary draft prepared by a contractor, and that the department “would not have approved of the report in its current form.”
The government “has written and contracted multiple reports on this subject, based on different contingencies, which arrive at very different conclusions,” they said.
The White House and commerce department declined to comment. Huawei did not respond to a request for comment.
The document shows the Biden administration is seeking to assess the impact on US companies of proposed Huawei policy changes before imposing rules that could crimp projected revenue streams at a time when the tech industry is already reeling.
It also provides unusual insight into the politically sensitive question of which US companies are seeking business ties to Huawei, one of Washington’s most penalized Chinese companies.
The report suggested Qualcomm Inc would likely suffer a “moderate economic impact” from the change in policy, in contrast with Huawei.
However, the loss of access to Qualcomm’s modem chips would have a bigger impact on Huawei, the report forecast, as Huawei “relies heavily on Qualcomm’s modem chips to support its smartphone offering.”
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