US revokes some licenses to export chips to Huawei

The U.S. has revoked some licenses granted to Chinese tech giant Huawei to export chips. The U.S. said on Tuesday it had revoked some licenses that allowed companies to ship them to Chinese telecommunications equipment maker Huawei Technologies. Some companies were notified on Tuesday that their licenses were revoked with immediate effect, according to a person familiar with the matter. The move comes after Huawei launched its first AI-enabled laptop, the MateBook X Pro, last month, which is powered by Intel’s new Core Ultra 9 processor. “We have revoked certain licenses for exports to Huawei,” the Commerce Department said in a statement, declining to specify which ones it had revoked. The move comes after intense pressure from Republicans in Congress who have called on the Biden administration to take tougher action to curb Huawei. “This action will strengthen U.S. national security, protect American ingenuity, and reduce Communist China’s ability to advance its technology,” Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik said in a statement. Depending on which licenses are revoked, the move could also hurt Huawei, which still relies on Intel chips to power its laptops, and U.S. suppliers that do business with the company. Huawei was placed on a U.S. trade restrictions list in 2019. Being added to the list means the company’s suppliers must obtain a special, hard-to-obtain license before shipping.