The move comes after the launch of an AI-enabled laptop drew intense criticism from Republican lawmakers.
The United States has revoked some licenses that allow companies to supply goods such as chips to sanctioned Chinese telecommunications equipment maker Huawei Technologies.
Some businesses were told Tuesday that their licenses had been revoked effective immediately, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The move comes after Huawei’s release of its first AI-enabled laptop last month, the MateBook X Pro with Intel’s new Core Ultra 9 processor.
The introduction of the laptop drew criticism from Republican lawmakers. They said this indicated that the US Commerce Department had given Intel the green light to sell the chip to Huawei.
“We have revoked certain licenses for exports to Huawei,” the Commerce Department said in a statement, declining to specify which licenses it had revoked.
The move, first reported by Reuters, comes after concerted pressure from Republican China hawks in Congress who are urging the Biden administration to take tougher measures to thwart 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 were revoked, the move could also harm Huawei, which still relies on Intel chips to power its laptops, and could harm U.S. suppliers that do business with the company.
An Intel spokesman declined to comment.
Huawei did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Huawei was placed on a U.S. trade restrictions list in 2019 over fears it might spy on Americans, part of a broader effort to stop China from strengthening its military. Inclusion on the list means the company’s suppliers must obtain a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping.
Still, Huawei suppliers have received billions of dollars worth of licenses to sell Huawei goods and technology, including a particularly controversial permit from former President Donald Trump’s administration that allowed Intel to sell CPUs to Huawei for use in Huawei to deliver laptops since 2020.
Qualcomm has been selling older 4G chips to mobile phones since the company received a license from US authorities in 2020. In a regulatory filing earlier this month, Qualcomm said it does not expect to receive additional chip revenue from Huawei beyond this year.
However, Qualcomm still licenses its portfolio of 5G technologies to Huawei, which last year began using a 5G chip developed by its HiSilicon unit that most analysts believe was manufactured in violation of U.S. sanctions. Qualcomm said in the filing this month that its patent agreement with Huawei expires at the beginning of Qualcomm’s fiscal year 2025 and that the company has begun negotiations to extend the agreement.
Qualcomm did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Critics claim such licenses have helped the company’s resurgence. Huawei shocked the industry last August with a new phone powered by an advanced chip from Chinese chipmaker SMIC, despite US export restrictions on both companies.
According to research firm Counterpoint, the phone helped Huawei’s smartphone sales rise 64 percent year-on-year in the first six weeks of 2024. Its smart car components business has also contributed to Huawei’s resurgence, with the company posting its strongest revenue growth in four years in 2023.