Huawei's 90-day reprieve extended by another 90 days (Update: HUAWEI statement)

Update, August 19, 2019 (02:54 PM ET): HUAWEI sent Android Authority an official response to the 90-day extension described below.

There were two main aspects to the statement: the company stating that it is unhappy with still being on the Entity List and then declaring that the very existence of the list is bad for consumers around the world. The first part is below:

[HUAWEI opposes] the U.S. Commerce Department’s decision to add another 46 HUAWEI affiliates to the Entity List. It’s clear that this decision, made at this particular time, is politically motivated and has nothing to do with national security. These actions violate the basic principles of free-market competition. They are in no one’s interests, including U.S. companies. Attempts to suppress HUAWEI’s business won’t help the United States achieve technological leadership. We call on the U.S. government to put an end to this unjust treatment and remove HUAWEI from the Entity List.

The second main part of the statement is here:

The extension of the Temporary General License does not change the fact that HUAWEI has been treated unjustly. Today’s decision won’t have a substantial impact on HUAWEI’s business either way. We will continue to focus on developing the best possible products and providing the best possible services to our customers around the world.

The statement then declares that HUAWEI customers will continue to be able to use their devices and can expect reliable updates to the Android operating system.

Original article, August 19, 2019 (8:34 AM ET): The U.S. gave Huawei a 90-day reprieve following the trade ban against the manufacturer in May. The trade ban, which allows U.S. companies to maintain business ties with HUAWEI, expires today (August 19).

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross confirmed that the U.S. government will actually extend that reprieve for another 90 days starting today (h/t: Reuters). This means the Chinese brand is able to keep buying products and services from U.S. companies to service existing customers and devices.

It isn’t all good news for HUAWEI though, as Ross said 46 more HUAWEI affiliates will be added to the so-called Entity List. This suggests that it’ll be even tougher for the Chinese manufacturer to do business and to sidestep the trade ban in the future.

In addition, the newswire reports that President Donald Trump doesn’t want U.S. firms to deal with the company.

“At this moment it looks much more like we’re not going to do business,” Trump told reporters on Sunday before boarding Air Force One, insisting that the firm was a national security threat.

Trump said parts of HUAWEI’s business could be excluded from a more comprehensive ban, but added that it would be “very complicated.” The president didn’t clarify whether another extension would be granted to the company.

HUAWEI reassures consumers

HUAWEI U.K. preemptively addressed concerns about the company’s 90-day reprieve elapsing today.

“As we have been saying for some time now, nothing’s changed – and the good thing for our consumers is that nothing will change after August 19. All HUAWEI smartphones, tablets and PCs which are sold and are selling in the market will continue to receive security patches, Android updates and Microsoft support,” HUAWEI U.K. explained in an emailed press statement.

The division added that anyone who has bought or is about to buy a HUAWEI phone can continue to access various apps as they’ve always done, and that devices will still receive full after-sales support.

“Our most popular current devices will be able to access Android Q,” the company continued. It specifically said popular flagship phones such as the HUAWEI P30 series will “soon” be upgraded to Android Q.