WASHINGTON: The Trump administration gave Huawei Technologies a 90-day reprieve on Monday from a ban on doing business with US companies, as high-stakes trade talks between Washington and Beijing struggle to show gains.

The US Commerce Department effectively suspended for a second time tough rules banning US companies from selling technology components and services to the Chinese telecommunications giant and a prohibition on buying equipment from it.

The move means Huawei can continue to buy US-made semiconductors and other materials crucial to its phones and network equipment, and that US telecommunications companies can continue to buy Huawei’s networking equipment.

But it doesn’t signal a change in US concerns that Huawei equipment poses a national security threat or lift a general prohibition on the use of its market-leading next-generation 5G systems in the United States.

The Commerce Department, meanwhile, added 46 more companies to its list of Huawei subsidiaries and affiliates that would be covered by the ban if it is implemented in full, taking the total on the list to more than 100.

“As we continue to urge consumers to transition away from Huawei’s products, we recognize that more time is necessary to prevent any disruption,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement.

The move, which was first reported in the media Sunday, gave a boost to markets from Asia to the Americas, which had been driven down by fears that the trade war between the world’s economic superpowers is driving the global economy toward recession.

Both Shanghai and Hong Kong stocks soared more than two per cent, and in early trade US shares were up more than one percent.

Also helping the market mood were comments from President Donald Trump’s chief economic advisor Larry Kudlow, who said Sunday that the two sides were working to rekindle the trade negotiations.

Kudlow said that negotiators at a deputy level were to have teleconference discussions over the next week to 10 days.

If those “pan out,” there can be “a substantial renewal of negotiations” at the level of principal negotiators, Kudlow told Fox News.

“The phone calls last week actually produced a lot more positive news than has been reported in the media,” he said.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2019