May 23, 2019 – Panasonic Corp. has decided to halt the supply of some components to Huawei Technologies Co., officials said today, the latest sign that last week’s U.S. blacklisting of the Chinese telecoms giant is affecting major Japanese firms.
Panasonic is still examining which product shipments run counter to the economic sanctions imposed on Huawei by the United States in its trade war with China.
Even when produced outside the United States, some Japanese components that incorporate U.S.-made materials and technology — and are then shipped to Huawei — can infringe the ban.
Fallout from the sanctions may spread to other Japanese manufacturers whose parts are used to assemble Huawei smartphones.
Last year, Huawei received 670 billion yen ($6.1 billion) of supplies from Japanese companies, including Panasonic and electronic components maker Kyocera Corp.
Officials at Kyocera and Murata Manufacturing Co., another leading maker of electronic parts, have said they are paying close attention to developments.
On Wednesday, major Japanese mobile phone service operators said they will postpone sales of, and stop taking orders for, new Huawei handsets amid growing concern as to whether U.S. Google LLC will continue to provide services — including its Android operating system — to the Chinese manufacturer.
U.S. President Donald Trump last week declared a national emergency to ban American companies from using telecoms technology and services provided by entities considered a security threat, a move seen as targeting Huawei.
The U.S. Commerce Department also said last week it had added Huawei to its trade blacklist.