Trump: US won't do business with Huawei on security grounds - regardless of any trade deal

Some parts of Huawei's business could be exempted from wider US sanctions - but most of the company's business will remain banned

President Trump says the US will not do business with Huawei over national security issues - regardless of any trade deal the US strikes with China.

Speaking on Sunday to reporters in New Jersey, Trump said that some small parts of Huawei's business with US companies could be exempt from a larger ban, although doing that would also be a "very complicated" process.

"It's very difficult to determine what's coming in, what's not coming in, it's still Huawei," Trump said, according to Reuters.

"I don't want to do business at all because it is a national security threat and I really believe that the media has covered it a little bit differently than that," he added.

It is a national security threat

Earlier on Friday, some news outlets reported that the US Commerce Department may decide to extend Huawei's "temporary general license" for another three months, allowing the Chinese telecoms firm to buy supplies from American companies to serve its existing customers.

On Sunday, National Economic Council director Larry Kudlow confirmed that the Commerce Department was planning to extend the Huawei's licence for another 90 days as a gesture of "good faith".

"I think it's a good faith action, again, helping American companies who need a couple more months to make adjustments if they can get licences. And this assumes, by the way, no national security sensitivity. So that's not changing. But we're giving a break to our own companies for three month," Kudlow said on NBC's 'Meet the Press' programme.

The current licence expires today.

A decision against the extension of licence would be serious for Huawei. Not only will it dent Huawei's ability to maintain its existing telecommunication networks, but would also cast doubts on its assurance to maintain the current Google Android status quo.

A few days back, Huawei launched its first operating system for Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices like cars, smart TVs, and watches. Dubbed HarmonyOS, the system could be adapted to run the smartphones, the company said at the time of launch.

The news about HarmonyOS news was followed by another report in Chinese media suggesting that Huawei is currently working to roll out a rival to Google Maps by October.

Huawei warning

Last week, Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei warned the Trump administration that any attempt to deny Huawei access to the full Android OS will force the company to set out to break the dominance enjoyed by Google in the world's smartphone market.

In May, the US Commerce Department put Huawei in its "Entity List" after Trump declared a national emergency over threats to US technology. The decision barred the Huawei from doing any business with US firms without getting a special license from the US government.

Following the ban, Google announced that it was withdrawing Huawei's Android OS licence. Intel, Qualcomm and other American tech firms also stopped supplying the Chinese firm with components.

The US government later announced that it had decided to relax the ban by granting Huawei a new 90-day licence to operate in the US.

Despite that relaxation, Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei admitted that US sanctions will hit his company harder and will cut revenues by about $30 billion.