Trump administration delays penalty on Huawei for another 90 days

The Trump administration is again extending a deadline for U.S. businesses to cut ties with the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross confirmed on Monday.

“It is another 90 days for the U.S. telecom companies,” Ross said on the Fox Business Network. “Some of the rural companies are dependent on Huawei. So we’re giving them a little more time to wean themselves off. But there are no specific licenses being granted for anything.”

{mosads}Ross added that Nov. 19 is the new deadline for the penalty.

“As we continue to urge consumers to transition away from Huawei’s products, we recognize that more time is necessary to prevent any disruption,” Ross added in a statement later Monday morning.

President Trump directed the Commerce Department in May to place Huawei on its “Entity List,” which is seen as a death sentence for included groups as U.S. companies are banned from doing business with them. 

A “temporary general license” allowing Huawei to continue doing business in the U.S. had already been granted for one 90-day period.

The U.S. has long considered Huawei a national security threat because of its connections to the Chinese government.

The Trump administration has also banned the telecom firm from contracting with the federal government and also cut off other companies that do business with Huawei from federal contracts.

Trump on Sunday said that he still believes Huawei is a national security threat and indicated that he’s still committed to a complete ban.

Ross also announced on Monday that 46 more Huawei subsidiaries are being added the entity list.

“We now have more than 100 subsidiaries on the Entity List,” he said, explaining that “adding more entities makes it more difficult for Huawei to get around the sanctions.”

— This report was updated at 9:43 a.m.