In the fleeting hours of the Trump administration, President Donald Trump has taken one final stab at Chinese telecom giant Huawei by revoking the licenses of companies that supply materials to the firm, cutting off Huawei from the American market.
The move has left many companies without a key customer and will almost certainly leave them bearing the decision's financial burden. Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is one such company that will likely be stuck footing the bill, having been a significant exporter to Huawei. Japanese firm Kioxia, which operates a division in the United States, also lost its license to export to Huawei. Neither firm has commented on the decision at the time of writing.
Huawei had previously made its displeasure known in 2019 after the Trump administration placed the corporation on an "entity list," which is what required licenses for export to the firm in the first place. "Restricting Huawei from doing business in the U.S. will not make the U.S. more secure or stronger; instead, this will only serve to limit the U.S. to inferior yet more expensive alternatives, leaving the US lagging behind in 5G deployment, and eventually harming the interests of U.S. companies and consumers," the firm said.
The move, which many are calling petty and unnecessary, is likely to be among the final shots at China by the outgoing president. The incoming Biden administration is set to inherit a trade war entirely of the last administration's design and the economic ramifications resulting. While instant rapprochement with China is unrealistic and unlikely to happen, at the very least, the next administration will likely move to cool tensions with China and attempt to find a new status quo to settle into.
Investors of firm impacted by the rash decision don't seem too concerned, or at least may be saving their concern for when the effects of the order begin to show. Kioxia is solely employee traded, but at least for publicly traded Intel, there didn't seem to be any reaction to the Trump administration's decision on Tuesday. Intel's stock remained largely flat throughout Tuesday, ending the day 0.71% up from Friday's close.