MediaTek has applied to the U.S. government for permission to continue supplying China’s Huawei after new U.S. curbs take effect in mid-September.
The Donald Trump administration in August expanded its curbs on Huawei and banned suppliers from selling chips made using U.S. technology to the Chinese firm without a special licence, Reuters reported.
MediaTek, which analysts said could be among the worst affected following the latest curbs, said it will follow related global trade regulations and has applied for the permission to ship to Huawei after Sept. 15.
Though MediaTek is confirmed to be unable to ship its smartphone APs to Huawei following the August 17 announcement, MediaTek may look to other high-end smartphones as its target market in 2021 and raise its 5G AP market share, research firm TrendForce said recently.
At the same time, Unisoc may become the AP provider of choice for Chinese smartphone brands’ entry-level models.
“MediaTek reiterates its respect for following relevant orders and rules on global trade, and has already applied for permission with the U.S. side in accordance with the rules,” it said in a brief statement, without elaborating.
The U.S. move this month closes potential loopholes in its earlier May sanctions that could have let Huawei buy chips using U.S. techonolgy via third parties.
The curbs underscore the growing rift in Sino-U.S. ties as Washington presses governments to squeeze Huawei out, alleging the company would hand over data to Beijing for spying. Huawei denies it spies for China.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said last month it stopped taking orders from the Chinese telecommunications and smartphone giant in May and does not plan to ship wafers after Sept. 15.
