The G20 Summit wrapped up today in Japan, during which US President Donald Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Following their meeting, Trump announced that the two countries would resume trade talks and that the US would hold off on implementing new tariffs indefinitely. He also indicated that US companies would be permitted to resume sales to Huawei, although its unclear when or how that will happen.
In May, Trump signed an executive order that allowed the US government to block sales by US companies to foreign firms deemed a security risk. Its not immediately clear what — or if any — steps have been taken to lift the restriction on sales to the beleaguered Chinese technology company. According toThe Washington Post, Trump told reporters that he will be meeting with US officials to ease the pressure on Huawei, but also that they havent made a formal decision to lift them yet, while The Wall Street Journal reports that he indicated that the two countries will leave what to do with the company until the end of the negotiations.
Huawei is caught in the midst of the larger US-China trade war. While both countries have levied tariffs against one another, US security officials have warned about the possibility that the telecommunications company maintains ties to the Chinese government, and could represents a security threat to the US. Trumps executive order prompted immediate headaches for Huawei: Google pulled the companys Android license, chipmakers stopped supplying parts, Microsoft stopped selling Huawei laptops, and the company wouldnt be allowed to use microSD cards in its devices.
