Almost a week after the US President, Donald Trump, signed his executive order, Huawei’s steady stream of chips and software from US companies such as Intel, Qualcomm, and Google has virtually been crippled. To make matters even worse, German chipmaker Infineon Technologies has also begun suspending shipment of its chips to the Chinese telecommunications brand.
To be fair, Infineon told the Nikkei Asian Review that it was suspending any deliveries of products from its US branch to Huawei. In accordance with the Trump administration’s executive order. It also made clear that the majority of its products supplied to the brand was not affected by the US’ export controls.
In comparison to the other brands, Infineon’s business with Huawei only amounts to a fraction of the latter’s annual revenues. Statistically, it only contributes just 2%. As minor as Infineon’s contribution, it is still, nevertheless, considered to be a vital supply line for Huawei’s devices.
Despite these setbacks, Huawei’s founder, Ren Zhangfei, has expressed confidence in his company’s ability to weather the political storm. And that it “does not need US chips to survive”. For users currently using Huawei and HONOR devices, fret not. As per our earlier report, the ban doesn’t affect existing devices released before the ban. Further, the Trump administration seems to have granted Huawei a temporary license that will allow it to provide service and support to smartphones and fully operational network and equipment.
(Source: Nikkei Asian Review, Reuters)
