UK planning to remove Huawei equipment from its 5G networks.

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According to a Financial Times article, the UK is going to remove Huawei from their 5G network and make efforts to remove all Huawei components in the next 3 years. The move by the UK should be welcome news for the US, as Trump administration officials have been pressuring the UK to not use Huawei for their 5G network.

The US has argued that Huawei could build backdoors into network infrastructure and assist in spying efforts by the Chinese government. In the past, the US threatened intelligence efforts between the two countries could be limited if the UK does proceed with the Huawei 5G network.

The recent news developments shifts away from previous UK policy limiting how much Huawei equipment could be used in the 5G networks. Yesterday’s announcement signals a significant shift away.

Other online sources reporting the news also claim the UK response is partially due to public sentiment about China and their handling of the corona virus pandemic.

If your company exports to Huawei and have any questions about compliance with the changing export rules, contact David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.

Department of Commerce amends direct product rule to restrict Huawei’s use of US technology and software.

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Yesterday, May 15, 2020, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced plans to restrict Huawei’s use of U.S. technology and software to design and manufacture its semiconductors abroad by amending the foreign-produced direct product rule. This change to the rule was established to counter Huawei’s acquisition of semiconductors that are the direct product of certain software and technology from the US.

While BIS added Huawei and its affiliates to the Entity List in 2019 and therefore requiring US companies wishing to export items to Huawei required the companies to obtain a license. Despite being placed on the Entity List, Huawei continued to use software and technology from the US to design semiconductors, there by getting around the basis for placement on the Entity List. Specifically, Huawei would use semiconductor fabrication facilities overseas that incorporated U.S. equipment.

The rule changes specifically mention Huawei and are written to close the loophole. The full announcement and full text of the rule changes can be found at the Department of Commerce website here.

If you have questions how the changes may impact your company, contact export compliance attorney David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.

Bill introduced to ban government employees from using Huawei, ZTE products.

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Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley will introduce a bill banning US officials from using projects from Chinese companies that have been deemed to be national security threats. In the past, Chinese companies such as Huawei and ZTE have been deemed to be national security threats.

The proposed legislation is named the “Countering Chinese Attempts at Snooping Act” and would prohibit federal employees from conducting official business through technology from companies deemed by the State Department to be under the control of the Chinese government.

If passed, the bill would also require the State Department to create a list of companies supported by the Chinese company that could pose a threat and be used to conduct espionage.

This proposed legislation comes one month after President Trump signed into law legislation that barred the use of federal funds to purchase equipment from Huawei and ZTE.

If you have any questions about export compliance or think it’s time to revisit your compliance program, contact experienced compliance attorney David Hsu for a no-cost consultation by/phone or text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.

Huawei’s Google maps alternative.

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As you are aware, Huawei’s inclusion on the US entity list means no access Android and the Google Play Store. As a result Huawei has been looking at alternative companies to replace the Google Maps application – and last week, found their replacement.

According to Reuters, Huawei reached a deal with Dutch mapping company, TomTom which will see TomTom providing Huawei access to their navigation, mapping and traffic information.

With the TomTom information, Huawei will create their own proprietary apps for their own Harmony Operating System.

If you have any questions how Huawei’s inclusion on the BIS entity list will impact your business or if you are in need of export compliance, contact experienced trade attorney David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com, dh@gjatradelaw.com.

Trump administration eases regulations on exportation of small arms and ammunition.

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The Trump administration issued new rules related to the export licensing of firearms and ammunition products. Firearms and ammunition exports will now be managed by the Commerce Department and not the State Department.

In other words, small arms and ammunition shifts from the Department of State’s International Traffic in Arm’s Regulations US Munitions List to the US Department of Commerce’s Export Administration regulations.

ITAR concerns defense-related exports whereas EAR is “dual use” for commercial or military use, and therefore less strict export rules versus the State Department.

The new Trump administration rules also eliminates the $2,250 registration fee for gunsmiths and small companies who do not manufacture, or export firearms or ammunition.

The final rule will be published on January 23 rd and implemented 45 days later after formal publication.

If you have any questions how these new rules will impact your small arms or ammunition export business, contact experienced export compliance attorney David Hsu by phone/text at attorney.dave@yahoo.com or dh@gjatradelaw.com.

Huawei received approximately $75 billion in support from…

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According to a Wall Street Journal article published on Christmas day, Huawei reportedly had “access to as much as $75 billion in state support”. The $75 million figure was a result of the WSJ accounting of public records of Huawei and includes $46 billion in loans and $25 billion in tax cuts.
This recent article from the WSJ may bolster the US government’s case for barring mobile hardware made by Huawei to be used by government agencies. The US government may also cite this argument in it’s appeal to other countries to avoid using Huawei telecommunications equipment when municipalities choose a 5G equipment provider.
Huawei has denied any ties to the Chinese government and Huawei is still subject to a ban on using US origin hardware and software.
If you have any questions on how the Huawei band will impact your business, or if you have concerns about your export compliance with the current ban on Huawei – contact experienced trade and compliance attorney David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com, dh@gjatradelaw.com.

Department of Justice charges Indonesian citizen and companies with exporting goods to Iranian airline Mahan Air.

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According to a Department of Justice (DOJ) filing found here, the DOJ charged an individual Indonesian citizen and several Indonesian based companies for violating US export control of goods to Iran. Specifically, the charged individual and companies worked together to export goods originating from the US to Iranian airline Mahan Air. The complaint says the Indonesian national and companies shipped goods owned by Mahan Air through the following Indonesian companies: PT MS Aero Support (“PTMS”), PT Kandiyasa Energi Utama (“PTKEU”) and PT Antasena Kreasi (“PTAK”) .

The charge against the defendants include (i) unlawful and attempted export to an embargoed country, (ii) conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and (iii) false statements.

If you do not want to be the subject of DOJ investigation, call experienced trade controls attorney David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com, dh@gjatradelaw.com. Initial consultations are free, contact us to figure out how to protect you and your company from the many hazards of exporting US goods overseas.

Huawei 5G technology coming to the US?

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As Huawei is on the US Commerce Department’s Entity List, Huawei is prevented from doing business with US companies without permission (ie without a license from BIS).
However, media outlets report that Huawei is discussing licensing of their 5G technology to unnamed American companies who have shown interest in long term and one-time transfers. Even a license to an American company may be a violation even if no goods exchange hands.
The Huawei inclusion on the entity list is part of an effort to prevent suspected Chinese government surveillance onto their communications equipment.
If you or your company is interested in doing any business with Huawei – contact experienced BIS/trade compliance attorney David Hsu by text/phone at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com, dh@gjatradelaw.com.

Huawei admits they are impacted by US blacklist.

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According to a recent Forbes article, Huawei has confirmed the U.S. blacklist in place since May is impacting their ability to offer Google software onto their mobile phones. The Forbes article also says Huawei has not finished their in house operating system.
The black list that took effect in May restricts Huawei from access to the US supply chain for software and hardware. While Huawei has been able to source non US goods for the hardware, they have not been able to replace Google’s Android software.
While our blog earlier indicated Huawei would be launching their own in-house operating system, it is not yet ready for smart phones. Huawei has launched their Harmony OS, but that software is limited to smart TVs.
While not mentioned in the article, without Google’s Play Store, Huawei users will likely have to download APK files from online if they want to install their aps onto a new Huawei phone.
Things for Huawei will also get worse next month – this November marks the expiration of a temporary exemption on certain suppliers.
If you  have any questions how your company may be impacted by the trade restrictions with Huawei, contact experienced export compliance attorney David Hsu by text/phone at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com, dh@gjatradelaw.com.

Huawei claims they are victims of 1 million cyber attacks daily.

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According to a Forbes.com article, the Huawei security chief, John Suffolk claims Huawei is cyber attacked almost 1 million times per day on the Huawei networks and computers. According to their security chief, most of the attacks are looking for intellectual property theft as Huawei leads the world in 5G technology. In response to these attacks, Huawei has pledged to work with their customers to secure their defenses from further cyber attacks.
On the other hand, the US government has alleged that Huawei receives Chinese state support and as such is subject to assisting Beijing with intelligence gathering overseas through backdoors in their hardware.
The US is not alone in its suspicion, the Forbes article also cites a EU report warning of the “combination of new technologies and 5G networks risks hostile state control of critical infrastructure, logistics, transportation even law enforcement”. The EU report did not cite China or Huawei but the article did indicate that 5G suppliers from countries “with poor democratic standards,” for which the reference to Huawei and China was clear.
If you do business with Huawei and have questions about maintaining Huawei compliance, contact export compliance attorney David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com, dh@gjatradelaw.com.