Executives at Chinese technology giant Huawei will have a meeting with White House officials on Monday. The discussion will center on U.S. sales ban imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump in May and will be led by White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow.
The White House has also invited American chipmakers Intel Corp and Qualcomm Inc. to attend the event. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s presence is also expected.
Google and Micron will also attend. But a White House official insisted that although the subject of Huawei could come up, it will not be the main reason why they are part of the meeting. The two U.S. companies will attend to discuss economic matters, the official said.
Security Threat
President Trump decided to blacklist the Chinese company due to national security concerns. He said Huawei has a close connection with the Chinese government which he alleged uses the company’s equipment to spy on other companies and countries. The U.S. pressure to Huawei resulted in a 40% decline in overseas sales from May to June period.
However, President Trump, during his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 Summit last month, indicated that he would lift the ban, although it’s not certain when it will be. The two presidents also decided to resume trade talks.
Licenses will be issued where there is no threat to national security, said Commerce Department Secretary Wilbur Ross. In a report by Reuters, it said that the U.S. may grant licenses to restart new sales in a matter of weeks.
Two other U.S. tech companies, Microsoft, and Broadcom Inc have also been invited to the White House event.
The trade war between the United States and China started last year. Trump imposed tariffs on Chinese goods a few months ago. China hit back with its own tariff increase. But ahead of the G20 summit in June, the two economic powerhouses agreed on a tentative trade truce.
