The Department of Commerce has extended the comment deadline on whether it should continue to extend the temporary general license (TGL).
Commerce said the current extension, the fourth such extension, will still end May 15.
The Department of Commerce has continued to extend the TGL that allows U.S. companies to continue to supply chips to Huawei even though the Chinese telecom's network hardware has been put on Commerce's list of entities "engaged in activities that are contrary to U.S. national security or foreign policy interests" and thus off limits to such U.S. high-tech exports.
"The Department has received requests from industry to allow for additional comments, and is granting this request in support of robust consideration of future extensions of the TGL," it said Wednesday in granting that extension. Commerce did not say whether the added time request was related to the pandemic.
Commerce said the extensions are intended to allow companies to shift to alternative equipment and software sources and to allow telecom providers, particularly in rural areas, "the ability to continue to temporarily and securely operate existing networks while they identify alternatives to Huawei for future operation."
The FCC wants telecoms to rip and replace Hauwei tech and Congress has seconded that, supplying a billion dollars for the effort.
