Huawei, which has been banned from selling some of its telecom gear in the U.S. and other countries, is facing another hurdle that's related to its U.S.-based R&D subsidiary.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Huawei's Futurewei subsidiary in Silicon Valley is blocked from sending some of the technologies it has developed in the U.S. back to China.
The U.S. Department of Commerce notified Futurewei over the summer that it would not be renewing its export license. The move effectively blocks Huawei from tapping into the vast technology workforce and favorable regulations in Silicon Valley.
One of Futurewei's more notable employees is Margaret Chiosi, who is a former AT&T Distinguished Network Architect and one of the early influencers for virtualization and Carrier Ethernet services. According to her LinkedIn profile, Chiosi is technical vice president for SDN/NFV at Futurewei. Chiosi joined Futurewei two years ago.
The ban on exporting some of Futurewei's technologies is another salvo in an ongoing battle for Huawei. Huawei is currently banned from bidding on government contracts in the U.S. because of concerns over espionage on behalf of the Chinese government.
The governments of Australia, the U.K. and Germany have joined the U.S. in taking action against Huawei. Reuters reported this week that Norway could be the next country to prohibit Huawei from building part of its new 5G telecommunications infrastructure there.
According to a story today by Bloomberg, Poland arrested a Huawei employee and a former Polish security agent and accused them of spying for China.
President Donald Trump is considering an executive order that would bar U.S. companies from using equipment made by Huawei and ZTE, according to a story by Reuters last month. The U.S. government contends that Huawei is attempting to steal U.S. technologies at the behest of the Chinese government.
Huawei is also caught in the crosshairs of a trade war between the U.S. and China that has disrupted the flow of hundreds of billions of dollars of goods.
Tensions ratcheted up even higher between the U.S. and China when Huawei's chief financial officer and daughter of the company's founder, Meng Wanzhou, was arrested in December at a Canadian airport at the request of the U.S., which wants her extradited to face charges that she misled banks about the company’s business dealings in Iran. Trump has indicated that he may get involved with the Justice Department's case against Wanzhou.
RELATED: Huawei enters 2019 with high expectations, daunting challenges in the U.S.
According to a story by FierceWireless, Huawei Rotating Chairman Guo Ping issued a defiant New Year’s message that sought to refute the cloud of suspicion that hangs over Huawei's head.
While Guo Ping is bullish on Huawei's financial prospects in 2019, it could be a make or break year abroad for Huawei, which may benefit other vendors such as Ericsson and Nokia.