The US government recently placed a ban on the Chinese OEM ZTE from selling devices with American-made hardware and software. This followed violations of US sanctions on Iran and failing to reprimand their employees as part of the terms of the agreement. According to The Wallstreet Journal, it appears Huawei will be the next company to be investigated for such violations. Should Huawei be found guilty of violating US sanctions on Iran, they may also be barred from using American-made products in their devices.
Huawei is the world’s number one maker of cellular-tower electronics and other telecommunications equipment and is the number three smartphone maker in the world. Their attempt to enter the US market proved less than successful, though the company is willing to try and work through its issues. In the worst case scenario, the company may find itself in the same position as ZTE – unable to use Qualcomm processors and a possibility of losing their license to sell devices with Android pre-installed. ZTE’s foothold in the market was effectively shattered simply because of the ban imposed by the American Department of Commerce. To a company of Huawei’s scale, the damages could be even more catastrophic. It would effectively remove one of the biggest players in the market. The only hope for the company would be not to lose their Android license, as they can still use their own Kirin line of processors.
That’s not to say it will happen, or even that Huawei has made any wrongdoings. It is much more likely that should they be found guilty, they’ll be treated similarly to ZTE in that they will have the chance to make amends before any bans are imposed. If Huawei is innocent, then nothing will really change and the company will still continue to enter the US market. With the US government also imposing bans on Huawei and ZTE devices, it definitely seems that they don’t like either company – be the reasons well-founded or not.
Source: The Wallstreet Journal