INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightGetty ImagesThe US Commerce Department said it has agreed to grant "several" exemptions to its ban on doing business with
Huawei, the Chinese telecommunications giant.The ban meant that Huawei's latest smartphones launched without many of the typical apps -
including Gmail.It was not immediately clear which companies had received the licences.Officials have just started to notify firms of the
government's intent to deny or approve reprieves, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said.He told Fox Business that about 290 companies had
requested exemptions to the ban, which the US imposed citing national security concerns in May after trade talks between the US and China
broke down.Microsoft and Google are among the major technology firms that have been affected by the ban, which forbids US companies from
doing business with Huawei without special approval
They did not respond to requests for comment."The department is issuing these narrow licences to authorise limited and specific activities
which do not pose a significant risk to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States," a commerce department
spokesman said in a statement.The move comes amid another push for the US and China to reach a trade deal.Last month, US President Donald
Trump said a "phase one" trade deal could be signed within weeks, but optimism has waned as the negotiations have dragged on
Mr Trump on Wednesday said China was not "stepping up to the level that I want".While Huawei will remain on the blacklist, the exemptions to
The commerce department had already granted limited "temporary" licences, many of which applied to rural US telecommunications network
It extended those exemptions for another 90 days on Monday.The new exemptions are expected to apply to Huawei suppliers.Huawei did not
respond to a request for comment immediately
The company has denied that it is a threat and urged the US to remove it from the list, arguing the ban primarily harms US companies.The US
has said Huawei's equipment could be used for spying and accused the firm of violating US sanctions against doing business with Iran
