Chip designer Arm suspends business with Huawei after US trade ban
British chip designer Arm will suspend business with Huawei to comply with new US trade restrictions, the BBC reported, citing internal company documents.
In a memo sent to staff, Arm reportedly told employees to halt “all active contracts, support entitlements, and any pending engagements” with the troubled Chinese tech firm and its subsidiaries.
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The Cambridge-headquartered firm said its designs contained “US origin technology”, meaning it was subject to new US trade rules, according to the report.
US President Donald Trump last week added Huawei to a trade blacklist, effectively banning American companies from doing business with the Chinese firm.
The move will come as a major blow for Huawei, which uses Arm designs to manufacture its own chips. Arm, which was bought by Softbank for £24bn in 2016, employs 6,000 people and is considered one of the UK’s largest tech firms.
“We value our close relationships with our partners, but recognise the pressure some of them are under, as a result of politically motivated decisions,” a Huawei spokesperson said.
“We are confident this regrettable situation can be resolved and our priority remains to continue to deliver world-class technology and products to our customers around the world.”
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Earlier this month Huawei unveiled plans to build a 400-person chip research plant just 15 minutes from Arm’s headquarters outside Cambridge.
A spokesperson for Arm said the company is complying with all of the latest US regulation.