Qualcomm warned US authorities that Huawei export restrictions only served to hand competitors billions of dollars worth of sales, The Wall Street Journal reported, while the Chinese company blamed the policy for discontinuing use of its high-end Kirin chip.
In documents distributed to officials in Washington, Qualcomm apparently argued the ban would not prevent Huawei accessing advanced components moving forward and would cost the US-based chip giant billions in lost sales.
The company noted failing to grant Qualcomm an exemption to Huawei restrictions would create a shift in global 5G chip market share and limit funds spent on 5G research in the US.
Qualcomm, along with its local peers, are banned from supplying components to Huawei as a result of the Chinese vendor being placed on an export blacklist. The move is part of a sustained campaign against Huawei and ZTE by US authorities.
Hours before press revelations on Qualcomm’s lobbying, China business news website Caixin Global reported comments from Huawei’s consumer CEO Richard Yu announcing the company would be forced to stop using the high-end Kirin9000 chip in handsets after 15 September. Its forthcoming Mate40 device will be the final to use it.
The Kirin9000 had been manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and uses US-sourced components in production.
Yu reportedly noted as a result of the US ban, and the fact it didn’t manufacture all components in house, it would be unable to produce its flagship chipsets or those with AI processing capabilities.
