US Trade Restrictions Could Impact Intel’s Processor Supply to Huawei

The ongoing campaign against Chinese electronics manufacturer Huawei, initiated by US President Donald Trump in 2019, somehow spared Intel. The tech giant has been able to continue supplying their mobile processors for integration into Huawei laptops thanks to a valid export license. However, this license is due to expire soon, and its renewal is uncertain.

Intel’s Export License Status

According to Reuters, Intel obtained their export license during Trump’s administration. The current Joseph Biden administration has not yet taken up the issue of revoking that license. Therefore, Intel should technically be able to continue supplying their processors for Huawei laptops for some portion of this year, until the license expires.

Rival Company AMD Failed to Secure Export License

Intel’s competitor AMD attempted to secure an export license in early 2021, during Joseph Biden’s presidency, but was unsuccessful. Independent researchers indicated that the share of Huawei laptops equipped with AMD processors fell drastically from 47.1% in 2020 to 9.3% in the first half of last year. Intel, however, managed to increase its share in Huawei laptops from 52.9% to 90.7%. This shift helped boost Huawei’s share in their home market from 2.2% to 9.7% between 2018 and 2023, thereby pushing American company Dell Technologies to the fourth place. The restrictions are estimated to have cost AMD around $512 million in lost revenue on the Chinese market.

Potential Impacts if Intel Loses Export License

If Intel loses its export license to supply processors for Huawei laptops, the latter would practically lose its ability to produce consumer laptops with x86-compatible processors. The existing stock of processors would suffice for some time, but inevitably, the product range would become outdated.