US government grants Microsoft licence to export 'mass-market' software to Huawei

Earlier this week, US Commerce Department extended its Temporary General License for Huawei for another 90 days

Microsoft has been granted a licence by the US government to export ' mass-market ' software to Chinese technology giant Huawei.

"On November 20, the US Department of Commerce granted Microsoft ' s request for a license to export mass-market software to Huawei," a Microsoft spokesman told Reuters.

"We appreciate the Department ' s action in response to our request," the spokesman added.

Earlier this week, US Commerce Department extended its Temporary General License (TGL), allowing US firms to do business with Huawei, licence-free, for another 90 days.

The government said the beneficiaries of the TGL are mostly mobile carriers providing services to rural areas of the country.

This is the third extension granted by the government since May when it first blacklisted Huawei, citing national security concerns. The government claimed at the time that there was a reasonable basis to conclude that Huawei was engaged in activities contrary to the national security of the country.

A few days after blacklisting Huawei, the US government softened its stance and temporarily allowed American firms to do business with Huawei, in a move aimed to minimise disruption for them.

According to Reuters, the Commerce Department has now started approving some suppliers ' applications to sell components to Huawei.

An official told Reuters that the Department had received about 300 license requests, of which nearly half had been processed. Nearly half of the applications (processed) were approved, while the rests were denied. The move will allow companies to resume some business transactions with the Chinese firm.

A person familiar with the process told Reuters that the government has approved some licences for sales of non-electronic components and cell phone components.

A bipartisan group of 15 senators recently urged President Trump to suspend issuing licenses to firms to conduct business with Huawei. The group cautioned that granting licenses would allow Huawei to continue to pose a threat to national security more broadly.

In their letter to Trump, the senators said the government should suspend processing of licenses until it provides Congress a report outlining the criteria for determining whether or not the license would pose a national security threat.