Though SpaceX asked to move much of its proposed mega constellation to lower orbit, it hasn't acknowledged potential solutions to the increased collision risks that would create with Amazon's Kuiper mega constellation, Amazon officials told aides to all FCC commissioners, per an ex parte post Wednesday. Even if space safety problems are addressed, potential interference issues necessitate putting SpaceX's entire modified constellation in the non-geostationary orbit fixed satellite service processing round that launched in March, it said. Amazon petitioned to deny SpaceX's lower orbit ask (see 2007140001). SpaceX didn't comment Thursday.

President Donald Trump's administration “is committed to bold, decisive action" against China that protects U.S. national and economic security interests, said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross during a Wednesday Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security virtual event. He cited BIS' additional export restrictions on Huawei (see 2008170043) and Trump’s Aug. 6 executive order banning U.S. transactions with the parent companies of TikTok and WeChat. TikTok parent ByteDance is suing the administration to block the EO (see 2008240047). The new restrictions on Huawei “directly impact” the company’s “ability to work through third parties to harness advanced U.S. technology to meet the Communist Party’s objectives, and they will level the playing field by ensuring that both U.S. and foreign companies must receive the Commerce Department license to sell covered products to Huawei, Ross said. He said the TikTok/WeChat ban is necessary because the app’s parent companies “are in China, and these mobile apps collect personal and proprietary information that constitutes possible threats to our national security, foreign policy and economy.” Some experts predict Trump’s re-election campaign will use the Huawei restrictions to depict him as tough on China (see 2008270051). Former National Security Adviser John Bolton, in The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir, said Trump tried to use Huawei as leverage in the U.S.-China trade talks.

Qualcomm, Casa Systems and Ericsson completed the first extended-range 5G new radio data call over a millimeter wave network in Victoria, Australia, June 20, they said Monday. Distance was 2.36 miles, showing suitability for fixed wireless access services and opportunities to use 5G infrastructure in urban, suburban and rural environments, said the companies: With the reach and performance to offer fixed wireless as a widespread “last mile” broadband option, network operators will be able to use existing mobile networks to deliver fixed wireless services and expand service to new areas at multi-gigabit speeds, with low latency.

President Donald Trump’s warning that he will remove all U.S. business from China in a second term got a sharp rebuke Friday from the Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry. To threaten the “relocation of production capacity” as Trump did is “political manipulation that puts partisan and personal interests above U.S. national interests,” said a ministry spokesperson. “The perverse practice of going against the voluntary will of the vast business community, forcibly scrapping existing cooperation between countries, and coercing companies with regard to their normal investment and operation runs counter to the law of market economy and will eventually lead to self-harm.” China will "own our country” if Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is elected, Trump told the Republican National Convention Thursday evening.

Chipmaker Semtech is forecasting revenue of $145 million-$155 million for its fiscal Q3 ending late October. It assumes “no more direct shipments to Huawei” amid the further Commerce Department export restrictions on the Chinese tech company (see 2008170043), said Chief Financial Officer Emeka Chukwu on a quarterly earnings call Wednesday. Q3 revenue would rise about 10% from a year earlier at the high range of the guidance. “Despite the ongoing geopolitical challenges and the macroeconomic headwinds associated with COVID-19, we believe the underlying secular demand for our key growth platforms remains solid,” said Chukwu. Huawei is “an ongoing dynamic situation,” said CEO Mohan Maheswaran. “They used to be a $80 million to $100 million account for us, so it's much, much lower now.” Semtech went with the zero shipments assumption in the guidance because it wants to “eliminate any risk” for investors, he said. “It's not a question of us not wanting to ship them.” Commerce regulations “are changing quite frequently,” he said. “So we take the approach of let's be conservative and assume no shipments.”

Comments are due Oct. 26 on a Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security advance NPRM to decide if there are “specific foundational technologies” that warrant “more restrictive” export controls, says Thursday's Federal Register. “Foundational technologies essential to the national security are those that may warrant stricter controls if a present or potential application or capability of that technology poses a national security threat,” it says. Foundational technologies “could include items that are currently subject to control for military end use,” it says. “Many of these items, including semiconductor manufacturing equipment and associated software tools, lasers, sensors, and underwater systems, can be tied to indigenous military innovation efforts in China, Russia or Venezuela. Accordingly, they may pose a national security threat.” The ANPRM is in docket BIS-2020-0029 at Regulations.gov.

U.S. and Chinese trade officials reemphasized their commitment to the phase one trade agreement (see 2001160022) during a Monday call, said the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, USTR Robert Lighthizer and Vice Premier Liu He participated on the call, which was scheduled for earlier this month before President Donald Trump postponed it (see 2008190030). The call included a discussion on what China has done about intellectual property rights, forced technology transfer and the removal of “impediments to American companies” in the financial services and agricultural sectors, said USTR. The sides also discussed China’s “significant increases in purchases” of U.S. goods and more actions China needs to take to fulfill its phase one commitments. “Both sides see progress and are committed to taking the steps necessary to ensure the success of the agreement,” said USTR. China’s Commerce Ministry called the call a “constructive dialogue," in an unofficial translation. “Both sides agreed to create conditions and atmosphere to continue to promote the implementation" of the phase one deal, it said.

Last week's tightening of U.S. restrictions on Huawei (see 2008170043) took the semiconductor industry by surprise, and many in the sector worry about short-term supply chain disruptions due to the new measures, said industry officials and experts we canvassed. Many said they think the initial restrictions in May were sufficient, expressing frustration that the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security didn't seek industry feedback before imposing the new requirements. Though chipmakers are bracing for short-term complications, officials said they're also concerned about the long-term impacts of a U.S. national security policy that seems to continually target U.S. industry, even if indirectly. “We're now encouraging customers in China to move away from U.S. technology and semiconductors,” one semiconductor industry official said. “Why would they in the future use U.S. technology if they’ll be subject to all these rules?” The new rule expanded on a May policy that further restricted non-U.S. companies from selling chips using U.S. technology to Huawei. Officials said semiconductor supply chains will inevitably be impacted, but many remain unsure how broadly the impacts will be felt. The scope of the restrictions will depend on how strictly Commerce Department officials review license applications, which can range from case-by-case reviews to presumptions of denial. Much depends on whether Commerce "is serious about implementing this new rule literally,” said Alen Lin, a technology industry expert and analyst with Fitch Ratings. “If they do that, it does effectively cut off Huawei from any type of semiconductors.” Even though companies are still assessing the impact, industry officials expect many more chipmakers to be affected by the new restrictions than by the measures issued in May. Officials thought those requirements worked in targeting Huawei, which is why some said they were surprised when BIS issued more restrictions last week. “We were caught off guard,” one semiconductor industry official said. “We thought the original May rule was working. The objective seemed to have been achieved.” But Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Huawei was working with third parties to evade the restrictions, necessitating the tougher measures. The US-China Business Council said it's “deeply concerned” about the risk of “overly broad” restrictions resulting from the rule. It could lead to “unintended consequences … that deliver a bonanza of new business to our competitors while doing nothing to improve national security,” USCBC spokesperson Doug Barry said. He said more communication between government and industry would help: “The Trump administration needs to listen carefully to the industry perspective and learn more about their business models.”

A U.S. intelligence official urged companies to avoid supply chains involving Huawei and said there's a strong push within the administration to bolster domestic production of 5G technologies. Constance Taube, National Counterintelligence and Security Center deputy director, said U.S. companies should approach Huawei and other Chinese state-controlled companies with a high degree of skepticism, saying their supply chains will ultimately benefit from more trusted actors. “It's fair to say that supply chain risk can probably never be entirely eliminated,” Taube said, speaking during a Wednesday webinar hosted by the Intelligence and National Security Alliance. “But supply chain risk must be managed.” Taube said Huawei is “subject to the whims of an authoritarian government,” saying its strong links to the Chinese military should dissuade U.S. companies from trading with it. Recent U.S. restrictions, such as increased license requirements on exports to Huawei and Chinese military end-users, might cause industry pain in the short term, Taube said, but the U.S. will ultimately be better off. China heavily criticized the U.S. restrictions. Taube said the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the risks of doing business with China and stressed the importance of supply chain diversification. “What we have learned during the COVID crisis is that we are so deeply integrated in terms of supply chains on critical areas, that we may want to rethink and readjust to ensure that when we are in crisis periods, we are well positioned to get through the crisis without a reliance on partners that might not gain full trust.” Though Huawei is the world’s top telecommunication equipment maker, Taube said U.S. companies should turn to other sellers and buyers of 5G technology that are trusted. Taube also cautioned U.S. companies against doing business with other Chinese companies, saying they're subject to “different kinds of scrutiny and different requirements than companies that operate in environments that are democratically managed.” She said it's often unclear which companies are aiding the Chinese government. “Chinese government provides subsidies to their organizations that they feel are vital to their own national or economic security,” Taube said. “And I'm putting it bluntly: They don't necessarily always represent them as subsidies.”

The FCC warned China Telecom Americas it will share with DOJ, and its Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecommunications Services Sector, confidential data submitted by the company. The FCC is examining revoking China Telecom’s domestic and international authorizations allowing operation in the U.S. (see 2004240046). “The agencies constituting the Committee are all Federal government agencies,” the FCC said Monday: “No specific assurances have been made to China Telecom Americas against disclosing its confidential information to other Federal government agencies. ... DOJ has stated, on behalf of the Committee, that the agencies will protect the confidentiality of the requested information.” The company didn’t comment.