Samsung and SK Hynix are expected to end sales of smartphone components to Huawei starting next week, further exacerbating the Chinese giant's supply woes. Reports in South Korea suggest the two companies will stop shipping from September 15, the same day new US sanctions against Huawei take effect. These sanctions will not only create new headaches for embattled Huawei, but will also deprive the two Korean companies of valuable sources of revenue. In addition to being one of the world's largest smartphone makers, Samsung is a key supplier of components to the industry, particularly memory chips.
Samsung Huawei chips
Huawei has been on the US ``non-entity'' list since last year, a status that prevents American companies from doing business with it without a license. This effective blacklist has limited Huawei's access to major US technologies, such as the Android operating system. Bad enough, but earlier this year Washington closed what it believed to be a "loophole" that allowed chipmakers to ensure their components weren't classified as "made in America." United” despite the inclusion of US technologies. Although Huawei has worked hard to reduce its dependence on the United States, the move threatens the future of its smartphone business. Following the initial blacklisting, Huawei turned to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world's largest contract chipmaker, to produce its custom processors and supply it with other components such as chips. grid. However, TSMC stopped taking orders from Huawei earlier this year. The US government's actions against Huawei are based on national security concerns. Huawei denies any allegations of wrongdoing, as the Chinese government believes the sanctions are part of a broader trade dispute that has also involved ByteDance's TikTok and more recently Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC). Samsung and SK Hynix have been asked for comment.