US ban on Huawei causing problems for the release of Huawei's new Mate 30 smart phone

Due to the US ban on US companies doing business with Huawei, the Huawei Mate 30 phone due to be released this fall will not be able to incorporate Google apps and services features that are prized by many.

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New Huawei phones will be limited

The new phones can still run the Android system but only the open source version. However, the new Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro will not be shipped with Google's apps and Google services included. This will place Huawei at a great disadvantage in competition with other phones that have the apps and services.

No doubt developments will encourage Huawei to modify its own operating system and eventually to replace Google's Android OS. However, for the present Huawei intends to keep Google and has no plans for a smartphone that uses its newly released Harmony OS although it is planning a smart watch with the system. The two new Huawei smart phones are rumored to be launched on September 18.

The Trump ban can be found in its entirety here.

Recent extensions from the effects of the Trump ban will not help the new phones

Back in May the US Commerce Department provides a three month extension before the ban would take effect. This allowed time for Huawei to provide software updates and patches, to existing Huawei phones. This extension applies only to phones available to the public on or before May 16 this year. Just last week a second 90 day extension was announced but it will still apply only to phones already released. When the two new phones are released they will not fall under the extensions.

A recent Reuters article sums up the situation: "A Google spokesman told Reuters the Mate 30 cannot be sold with licensed Google apps and services due to the U.S. ban on sales to Huawei. A temporary reprieve that the U.S. government announced last week does not apply to new products such as the Mate 30, the spokesman said."

In markets outside of China the absent apps and services are crucial

Google apps and services including the immensely popular Google Play Store are key additions to the whole Android operating system. In China the apps and services are not offered in any event so their absence will not affect sales there. However, elsewhere in the world new phones from China will face competitors who offer the prized Google Play Store and other apps and services.

Huawei working on an alternative to Play store

Huawei has been working on an alternative to Play Store since 2018 in anticipation of a situation such as is happening now. However, the company will have an uphill battle. Large US companies will not be able to offer apps for the store since this would no doubt violate the US ban.

US actions could be counter-productive

US actions will force Huawei to be more self-reliant on itself and other Chinese firms, or at least non-US companies for its parts. The US is creating a situation in which it is losing a huge market for US multi-nationals and at the same time encouraging the Chinese government to develop more suppliers in China and other countries to replace them. Trump's attempt to Make America Great Again may actually hurt the US economy and slow down the process of globalization which it could be argued is what has made the American economy so successful. China may become the leader of continued globalization.

Formerly published in the Digital  Journal

Trump's Huawei ban may be planned as a negotiating tactic

US President Donald Trump met with Xi Jinping the Chinese president as the G20 Summit in Japan wrapped up today. Trump announced after the meeting that the two countries would resume trade talks and hold off implementing new tariffs indefinitely.

Was the Huawei ban just a negotiating tactic?

Trump also indicated that US companies would be allowed to resume sales to Huawei. However, he did not make it clear when or how this will happen. How can these sales resume if Huawei is a huge security threat as Trump claims? He has even used the security threat as a reason to convince other countries not to use Huawei's 5G networks.

Trump's position

In May, Trump signed an executive order allowing the US government to block sales by US companies to foreign firms considered a security risk. This was applied to Huawei. A recent article in Verge quotes Trump explaining his position: "TRUMP: Huawei is something that’s very dangerous. You look at what they’ve done from a security standpoint, from a military standpoint, it’s very dangerous. So it’s possible that Huawei even would be included in some kind of a trade deal. If we made a deal, I could imagine Huawei being possibly included in some form, some part of a trade deal."

Trump claims Huawei's technology could be used for spying in spite of Huawei's denial of this. However, Trump's position makes no sense. If Huawei is so dangerous, it will be no less dangerous after a trade deal. Trump's position makes sense only if Huawei is not as he claims a threat to US security and the ban was used as a bluff and a lever to get a better deal from China.

The Verge article concludes: "Trump’s executive order has caused immense chaos and concern, not just for Huawei but for its suppliers in America and users around the world. He owes those people an honest explanation for why this was done. So far, they haven’t gotten one." Given the way Trump operates it is unlikely that he will ever give such an explanation. No doubt he cannot in any event.

No sign of lifting the ban as yet

So far it is not clear what if any steps Trump has taken to lift the restrictions. According to the Washington Post Trump told reporters that he will be meeting with Huawei officials to ease pressure on Huawei but there has not been a formal decision to lift the ban as yet. On the other hand he told the Wall Street Journal that the two countries will leave what to do about Huawei until the end of the negotiations. This sounds as if Trump is continuing to use the ban as leverage even though it is a bluff to get China to accept a better deal for the US.

China said to make reprieve from ban a condition of further talks

However, China has reportedly made a reprieve from the Huawei ban a condition of returning to the bargaining table. Trump said last month that the US could lift restrictions if there were some forward progress in negotiations with China. Now that there seems to be some progress with talks continuing Trump may say that there will be a reprieve from a ban. However in reality he has done nothing leaving the ban as a threat and leverage in the negotiations.

Meanwhile not only China but many US companies who supply parts for Huawei are being hurt by the Trump. Trump is supposed to be known as a deal maker. Perhaps he should be known as the dirty deal maker.

Previously published in the Digital Journal