Huawei reckons US ban will cost its phone division $10 billion

Huawei said the impact of its blacklisting by the US Commerce Department would be less than it previously estimated, Reuters reported Friday. Eric Xu, deputy chairman of the controversial Chinese phone maker, told reporters the company expects a sales reduction of $10 billion for its phone division. In June, CEO Ren Zhengfei predicted that it'd lose $30 billion.

"It seems it is going to be a little less than that. But you have to wait till our results in March," Xu said at a news conference at its Shenzhen headquarters.

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The Commerce Department blacklisted Huawei following an executive order from President Donald Trump that effectively banned it from US communications networks. It required American companies to get a license to do business with the Chinese telecom giant, which is the subject of national security concerns due to its links to the Chinese government. Huawei has also announced that it's making its own mobile operating system, which could be applied to its phones if it's locked out of Google's Android.

On Monday, the department said it's extending a temporary general license that allows US companies to work with Huawei for another 90 days, but Xu said the reprieve was "meaningless" because its employees are "fully prepared" to work within the ban.

Huawei didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Originally published Aug. 23, 5:04 a.m. PT.
Update, 5:12 a.m. PT: Adds more detail.