Commerce to Issue Huawei Licenses 'Very Shortly,' Ross Says

The Commerce Department will issue Huawei-related export licenses “very shortly,” Secretary Wilbur Ross said, adding that the agency has received more than 260 applications. “Those will be forthcoming very shortly,” Ross told Bloomberg on Nov. 3, declining to give a more specific time frame. Ross said in July that Commerce planned to release the licenses “within the next few weeks” (see 1907240030).

Ross also said the agency has received more than 260 applications weeks after an agency spokesperson said Commerce had received more than 200 applications (see 1910220067). Ross said the high number of applications caught Commerce by surprise. “That's a lot of applications,” he said. “It’s frankly more than we would have thought.”

He also said Huawei will not be part of U.S.-China trade negotiations despite China saying it is pushing for the technology company to be included (see 1909050047). “Huawei is an enforcement action,” Ross said. “Huawei is not a part of the trade negotiations.” Trade experts have said the ban on Huawei will almost certainly be lifted if a deal gets done (see 1907180033).

Although many U.S. companies are awaiting decisions on licenses, Ross stressed that the review policy remains a presumption of denial. “So the safe thing for these companies would be to assume denial, even though we will obviously approve quite a few of them,” Ross said.

Ross declined to say whether the U.S. and China would reach an agreement on phase one of the trade deal this month but said he was hopeful. “I think we’re in good shape, we’re making good progress, and there's no natural reason why it couldn't be [this month],” he said. “But whether it will slip a little bit, who knows. It’s always possible.” Ross said many of the trade “obstacles have been overcome.” The two countries are now “making sure each side has a very correct and clear detailed understanding of what each side has agreed to,” he said. “Trade deals are very, very complicated, and this one is particularly complicated.”

The two sides last spoke on Nov. 1, when Chinese negotiators spoke with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. During the call, the two sides discussed “core concerns” and “reached consensus on principles,” China’s Ministry of Commerce said, according to an unofficial translation. China also said they planned for more “consultation arrangements.”

Ross said Chile’s decision to cancel the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit this month, where President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping were expected to meet to sign the deal, will not impact negotiations. He said the two sides will agree to a new location. “That should be the easiest part of the whole thing to negotiate,” Ross said.