Trump meets with chipmakers on Huawei, other economic issues

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump met with executives from several of the nation’s leading chip and computer part makers Monday and discussed restrictions his administration has imposed on the sale of components to Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, the White House said.

Huawei is embroiled in a trade dispute between China and the U.S. The Trump administration in May sanctioned Huawei, which it has deemed a threat to national security, and curbed sales of U.S. equipment to the Chinese company. The move was widely seen as intended to persuade resistant U.S. allies in Europe to exclude Huawei equipment from their next-generation wireless networks, known as 5G.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross recently announced a partial reprieve: His department will issue export licenses to companies to sell technology to prohibited foreign companies such as Huawei only when it’s determined there is no threat to national security.