US reportedly allows chip sales to Huawei but only for non-5G business

Things have been bad for Huawei since the US ban. First, they were not allowed to sell in the US. Later, they were banned from buying goods from any US company. They also lost their chipset manufacturer TSMC. This means Huawei can no longer use Kirin chipsets or trade with other US chipmakers. The last of these is the Kirin 9000 for the Mate 40 series.

But a Financial Times report suggests the U.S. is finally allowing Huawei to deal with chipmakers for transactions.

Huawei may be getting some relief as far as its smartphone business is concerned. According to the Financial Times, the US has begun allowing chip companies to supply components to Huawei. The only caveat is that these components should not be used for Huawei-branded 5G business.

Actually, this is really big news. Huawei not selling products in the United States is a problem, but Huawei not dealing with chipset manufacturers is a bigger problem. Because China is Huawei's main market. But without the Kirin chipset, Huawei will lose that as well. So the lack of chipset manufacturers is a big problem for Huawei. Companies like Qualcomm and MediaTek tried their best to sell their chips to Huawei. But no progress was made.

We might see Qilin again

“The U.S. Department of Commerce has been telling companies in recent conversations that, while Huawei supply licenses are processed for denial, this can be overcome if you can prove your technology does not support 5G,” an unnamed chipmaker involved in the discussion told the Financial Times. The chipmaker was reportedly referring to Huawei’s 5G infrastructure business.

As you know, Huawei is still the third largest mobile device manufacturer in the world. You can imagine how much impact their investments and deals will have on the economy. The Korean giant Samsung understands this. That's why they gave Huawei a chance. Samsung will supply OLED panels to Huawei. Now, Huawei may be able to solve a major problem with its chipsets.

The news is not official yet. The final decision will come from the US Department of Commerce. We can only be assured when their official wording comes out. If this is a green light from the US Department of Commerce, then get ready to get Kirin back in action. What do you think of this news? Even if Huawei is able to get its chipmaker back, it will not be able to use Google services, which is another big problem facing Huawei.

Between this latest relaxation and the move to allow Samsung Display to supply OLED panels to Huawei, the shadow of US restrictions appears to be lifting.

While the U.S. will reportedly continue to restrict the company's access to 5G equipment, the recovery of other chip components could mean that Kirin's story isn't over yet.

The Financial Times reported that two Asian semiconductor companies said they were optimistic about obtaining licenses to do business with Huawei. One of them said: "It has been shown to us that chips for mobile devices are not a problem."