The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has revised its public guidance on Huawei’s Ascend chips, removing language that initially stated their use “anywhere in the world” would constitute a violation of U.S. export control laws.
The original statement said BIS was "Issuing guidance that using Huawei Ascend chips anywhere in the world violates U.S. export controls."
The online document now reads "Issuing guidance alerting industry to the risks of using PRC advanced computing ICs, including specific Huawei Ascend chips."
The change, first reported by Shanghai-based Guancha.cn, appears to mark a shift in the agency’s characterization of the legal status of global Huawei chip usage, softening the original assertion of extraterritorial application of export restrictions.
As the Trump Administration balances maintaining an export control regime with accomodating Gulf State allies and western chipmakers, this language may permit a more nuanced interpretation of what is permissable.
TSMC, already facing enforcement action for its Huawei trade [13679], and Nvidia, which counts transhipment hub Singapore as its second-largest revenue source, will welcome more liberal terms.
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