What you need to know
- The U.S. Department of Commerce granted Microsoft a license to export "mass-market software."
- Microsoft did not specify which software it may sell to Huawei.
- Some speculate that the license will likely allow Microsoft to sell licenses for Windows to Huawei.
Microsoft shared a statement to Reuters announcing the new license, "On November 20, the U.S. Department of Commerce granted Microsoft's request for a license to export mass-market software to Huawei. We appreciate the Department's action in response to our request." According to Reuters, the Commerce Department has begun granting licenses to multiple companies to sell goods to Huawei. A U.S. official told Reuters that the government has processed about half of the 300 license requests it has received, and that it has approved about half of those, including Microsoft's.
Microsoft President Brad Smith weighs in on Huawei and the US government
Microsoft's statement does not specify which types of software the company can now sell to Huawei, and Microsoft did not clarify their statement. The U.S. Department of Commerce did not comment on the issue either. Reuters spoke with Dan Ives, an analyst with Wedbush Securities, who said that the license is likely for the Windows operating system. If that is the case, it would bring Huawei one step closer to selling laptops running Windows.
