Washington (AFP)
Washington on Monday granted a new three-month respite to Chinese telecom giant Huawei and some of its US customers.
The continuation of the exemptions for an additional 90 days "is intended to give consumers throughout America the time to find suppliers other than Huawei, because of the permanent threat (it represents) to national security and foreign policy, "said a statement from the Ministry of Commerce.
The Trump administration had blacklisted Huawei in May, accusing the group of working with the Chinese authorities, but had already granted exemptions for an initial 90-day period.
These exemptions were granted to certain US companies to continue selling low-tech products to the Chinese group or to allow some of its customers to switch suppliers.
"There are 90 more days for US telecoms companies, including some rural companies, which depend on Huawei," Commerce Minister Wilbur Ross told Fox Business, adding, "we are giving them more time to wean themselves off ".
The ministry added, however, that it had added 46 Huawei affiliates to the blacklist on Monday, noting that since May it had registered a total of about 100 affiliates and people linked to the Chinese telecom group.
© 2019 AFP