WASHINGTON: The US Commerce Department has put on hold a rule aimed at further reducing sales to China’s Huawei Techno­logies amid push back from the Defense Department, people familiar with the matter said.

The move leaves the proposal in jeopardy, but President Donald Trump’s administration plans a high-level meeting next week to discuss the issue, one of the sources said, adding that the Pentagon cited concerns about the impact on US businesses.

The Commerce Department did not immediately comment. Huawei declined to comment.

Commerce in May placed Huawei on a trade blacklist, citing national security concerns. That allowed the US government to restrict sales of American-made goods to the company and a small number of items made abroad that contain US technology.

Under current regulations, key foreign supply chains remain beyond the reach of US authorities, fueling frustration among China hawks within the administration and a push to expand US authority to block more shipments to Huawei.

Reuters reported in No­­vem­ber that the Commerce Department was considering broadening the rule that dictates how much Ameri­can content in a foreign-made product gives the US government authority to regulate sales.

Published in Dawn, January 25th, 2020