Huawei remains on the blacklist, even after Trump's G20 announcement

The "presumption of denial" policy is still in place in which most requests are usually denied.

What you need to know

• An internal email was sent to U.S. Commerce Department staff informing them Huawei is still blacklisted.
• The email was sent by John Sonderman, Deputy Director of the Office of Export Enforcement in the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security.
• Huawei will still be under the "presumption of denial" policy in which most requests are usually denied.

Back in May, Huawei was placed on the Entity List, which essentially bans any U.S. company from doing business with the Chinese tech giant.

After months of uncertainty, one of the largest smartphone makers in the world looked to have gotten a reprieve. This came after president Trump announced at last week's G20 Summit that U.S. firms could resume selling to Huawei.

However, despite this announcement, the U.S. Commerce Department still hasn't removed Huawei from the Entity List. According to an internal email viewed by Reuters, staff at the Commerce Department are being told to treat Huawei as if it is still on the blacklist.

This party is on the Entity List. Evaluate the associated license review policy under part 744

The email was sent by John Sonderman, Deputy Director of the Office of Export Enforcement in the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security.

Also cited in the email was the "presumption of denial" policy under which most requests will be denied.

So far, this is the only guidance anyone at the Commerce Department has been given since Trump's G20 announcement in regards to Huawei. It is uncertain at this time if the policy will be updated or changed in the near future, or if exceptions will be made in specific cases.

However, at the G20 Summit Trump said he would allow U.S. companies to supply components to Huawei in cases that didn't pose a national security threat. Perhaps, in the future, Huawei will remain on the Entity List while exemptions could be made on a case-by-case basis. At least its phones will be able to receive security patches and platform updates past the previously-stated August 19 deadline.

All we know for now is, that Huawei isn't out of the woods yet, and continues to be a bargaining chip in the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China.