Despite economic war: Intel continues to sell chips to Huawei

The trade war between China and the USA is still boiling over. Nevertheless, US chip manufacturer Intel is still allowed to sell chip technology to Huawei.

Intel may circumvent export ban

The USA considers much of the technology originating from China to be a “threat to national security”. The best-known representative of this is Huawei. The tech company, which is apparently largely state-funded, is repeatedly the focus of the authorities. Accordingly, the company’s technology has been banned from sale for years.

Conversely, US companies are not allowed to do business with Huawei and other Chinese companies. However, as exceptions are known to prove the rule, the ban does not appear to apply to everyone. Intel is currently still allowed to supply its chip technology to Huawei of all companies. According to a report by Reuters, a Chinese spy balloon may have played a significant role in this decision.

USA seeks to ease tensions

Last summer, a Chinese balloon flew over US territory. As a result, the USA shot the balloon down. Naturally, there was a great deal of excitement and accusations of espionage quickly arose. To calm things down again quickly, the superpowers agreed to stagnate the trade war. The agreement stipulated that existing sanctions would continue to apply, but that no new restrictions would be imposed. In 2020, Intel received exceptional permission from then US President Donald Trump to do business with Huawei.

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Accordingly, Intel is still permitted to supply chips to Huawei. The bitter aftertaste: competitors such as AMD are still affected by the export ban. Accordingly, the chip manufacturer is naturally snubbed by the current trade situation. However, this huge economic advantage is unlikely to last. After all, the special regulation for Intel is due to expire this year. The two chip manufacturers should then be back on an equal footing.