A senior US official this week told the Commerce Department’s enforcement staff China’s Huawei should still be treated as blacklisted, days after US President Donald Trump sowed confusion with a vow to ease a ban on selling to the firm.
On Saturday, Trump surprised markets by promising Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Japan he would allow US companies to sell products to Huawei Technologies.
In May, the company was added to the Entity List, which bans American firms from selling to it without special permission, as punishment for actions against US national security interests.
Trump’s announcement - an olive branch to Beijing to revive stalled trade talks - was cheered by US chipmakers eager to maintain sales to Huawei, the world’s largest telecoms equipment-maker and a key US customer.
But Trump’s comments also spawned confusion among industry players and government officials struggling to understand what Huawei policy he had unveiled.