Loopholes open in the Huawei ban, things to know

The New York Times broke the story, first noting that U.S. chip makers are still selling products to Huawei, and then naming them in the second paragraph: “Industry leaders including Intel and Micron have found ways to avoid labeling goods as American-made, said the people, who spoke on the condition they not be named because they were not authorized to disclose the sales.”

The sales aren’t small beer either – the Times sources estimating sales already “totaled hundreds of millions of dollars.”

Micron admitted as much, with CEO Sanjay Mehrotra noting on an earnings call:

“ …we determined that we could lawfully resume shipping a subset of current products because they are not subject to export administration regulations and entity list restrictions.”

Intel, as another example, use facilities across China, Israel, Ireland, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the U.S., giving it the same legal wiggle room:

Intel fab sites

And in all fairness, we know that American companies may sell technology supporting current Huawei products until August 19th, 2019, after a secondary allowance was made by the Trump administration.

But the ban on supplying components for future products is in place, as it was when it was handed down.

Oh, the U.S. knows alright:

Government officials reportedly know and are frustrated by this resumption in supply to Huawei, but are split on what to do about it.

Some, no doubt admiring the chutzpah on display, want to ensure U.S. tech doesn’t lose all of its sales, while others are reported to believe that undermining government efforts to pressure Huawei and China is against the spirit of the law.

After the Times published the article, the latter among administrators reacted, with Garrett Marquis, the White House National Security Council spokesman, criticizing the companies’ workarounds.

One former department official refuted that it’s a loophole, pointing out it’s just not well understood.

So here we are:

As one tweeter scornfully noted: “The President did run for office on a platform that suggested that business needed freedom from pesky government oversight and regulations.”

U.S. companies profiting by tackling loopholes while competitors stick to the letter of the law is an artform.

And Trump has always noted deals, especially big deals, are an artform.