Microsoft Allowed To Trade With Huawei, Exporting Mass-Market Software

The trade tariff between the US and China has been heated in fits and starts for time, and the US government recently gave Huawei an important reprieve since it started blacklisting the Chinese tech giant. According to Bloomberg, the US authorities likely put the ban on hold when giving Microsoft a granted license to “export mass-market software” to Huawei. The news came from a statement Microsoft told Bloomberg, though the definition of “mass-market” is still undisclosed. However, those products may theoretically be Windows and Office, which can ease Huawei’s situation if consumers hesitate to get a new MateBook X Pro.

Accordingly, the Commerce Department seems willing to bend on the current stance with temporary licenses to not shut down the capabilities of the gear. The Secretary of Commerce Department has also teased some hints for some companies, saying that they would get license approvals irrespective of how susceptible they would be in the future.

Another Huawei’s software supplier, Google, hasn’t yet to get any type of similar licenses so far. Huawei smartphones relied on a bunch of Google’s pieces, but now the Chinese company has to ship those devices without Google apps, not only in China but also all around the world. This likely is synonymous to a disadvantage for consumers if they get used to having their workflow on mainstay Google apps like Gmail, Chrome or Sheets.

As a matter of fact, American officials don’t appear to sympathize. As predicted, their primary concern is that Huawei could help China spy on the US cellular networks through smartphones.