Media reports say that Google has suspended some business with Huawei after Trump blacklist. The move reportedly could hit Huawei Technologies’ ability to run phone operating system
Google has suspended Huawei’s access to updates of its Android operating system and chipmakers have reportedly cut off supplies to the Chinese telecoms company, complying with orders from the US government as it seeks to blacklist Huawei around the world.
In a fresh blow to Huawei, Google said it was complying with Trump’s executive order and was reviewing the “implications”, after Reuters initially reported the story.
The suspension could hobble Huawei’s smartphone business outside China as the tech giant will immediately lose access to updates to Google’s Android operating system. Future versions of Huawei smartphones that run on Android will also lose access to popular services, including the Google Play Store and Gmail and YouTube apps.
Chipmakers such as Intel, Qualcomm, Xilinx, and Broadcom have told employees that they will not supply chips to Huawei until further notice, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The move by Google comes after the Trump administration officially added the telecoms manufacturer to a trade blacklist on Thursday, declaring a national economic emergency to ban the technology and services of “foreign adversaries”. The blacklist immediately led to restrictions that will make it extremely difficult for the firm to do business with US companies, says The Guardian.
The Guardian says Huawei – which has not yet responded to the recent reports – will continue to have access to the version of the Android operating system available through the open source license that is free to anyone who wishes to use it.
But, according to Reuters, Google will stop providing technical support and collaboration for Android and Google services.
The company has previously said it was developing its own back up operating system, in case Huawei was ever blocked from using US software.
In an interview in March with German publication Die Welt, Richard Yu, head of the company’s consumer division said the company had a “plan B”. He said: “We have prepared our own operating system. Should it ever happen that we can no longer use these systems, we would be prepared.”
Huawei, which relies on chips from the US, has reportedly been stockpiling the chips and other components in anticipation of the ban. The Guardian says that in an interview on Saturday, Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei said the company would be “fine” without US chips.
