Republicans call on the US to severely punish Huawei

Republican lawmakers have called on the US government to impose tougher sanctions on Huawei and Chinese semiconductor maker SMIC after the two companies developed an advanced smartphone in defiance of US export controls.

Ten House Republicans, including the heads of the China, energy, trade and defense committees, are urging the US Commerce Department to impose “full stop sanctions” on Huawei and SMIC and bring criminal charges against the companies’ executives.

In a letter to Alan Estevez, undersecretary for industry and security at the US Department of Commerce, signed by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul and nine other Republicans on September 14, the group of lawmakers said that the Huawei Mate 60 Pro smartphone uses advanced 7-nanometer chips manufactured by SMIC.

The Huawei Mate 60 Pro, launched in early September during a visit to Beijing by US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, is proof that Washington has failed to prevent Chinese tech companies from producing 5G chips.

US lawmakers have rushed to find out whether SMIC violated US sanctions to produce chips.

World - Republicans call on the US to severely punish Huawei — The Huawei Mate 60 Pr smartphone contains an advanced processor said to be manufactured by China's top chipmaker SMIC. Photo: SCMP/Bloomberg

US officials have yet to confirm whether they have evidence that SMIC violated US export controls. Last week, the US Commerce Department said it was still trying to get more information about “the characteristics and components of the 7nm chip.”

The US blacklisted Huawei and SMIC in 2019 and 2020 over national security concerns. Since then, US suppliers have had to apply for special licenses to export goods to the companies. Now, Republican lawmakers want to take those restrictions to the next level.

“We are deeply troubled and troubled by the failure of the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) to effectively develop and enforce export control rules against violators, particularly China,” the Republicans said.

“For over two years, our committees and many members of Congress have written about loopholes in the rules that restrict technology to Huawei, SMIC, and others. Despite this, and pressure from Congress to adopt stricter policies, BIS has continued to issue hundreds of billions of dollars in licenses to Chinese-controlled companies,” the letter said.

The letter outlines a total of seven proposed measures, including revoking all existing export licenses for Huawei and SMIC.

Lawmakers also said the Commerce Department should put SMIC, Huawei and all of its subsidiaries on the entity list, subjecting them to trade restrictions, as well as revoke all existing licenses and deny new ones .

Nguyen Tuyet (According to Al Jazeera, Washington Post, Bloomberg)

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