The Institute of Electronic and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a US-based research and standards group, lifted a temporary ban on Huawei and its subsidiaries from participating in a peer review process for its research papers.
Its U-turn follows a statement last week that it would bar Huawei employees from taking part in the process and prohibit them from being involved in closed events involving technical discussions.
At the time, the IEEE explained its decision was the consequence of the US government placing Huawei on a trade blacklist last month.
IEEE said it decided to lift the ban following further clarification from the US Department of Commerce “on the applicability of these export control restrictions to IEEE’s publication activities”.
“Based on this new information, employees of Huawei and its affiliates may participate as peer reviewers and editors in our publication process. All IEEE members, regardless of employer, can continue to participate in all of the activities of the IEEE,” it said.
The association continued to state the risk had been addressed and its initial decision to bar the Chinese vendor was “motivated solely by our desire to protect our volunteers and our members from legal risk”.
Huawei is now free to submit papers, attend conferences and participate in other public activities.
Backtrack
The SD Association, an industry group covering standards for memory cards, had also reportedly blocked Huawei from participating in its technical meetings, but in a statement explained the vendor’s name had been omitted from its list of members “due to a technical issue”.
However, the association also noted Huawei’s membership “was recently suspended to ensure compliance” with the US export ban, before explaining most handset makers don’t need to be members of the group “to manufacture products using SD technology” unless they require access to the group’s specifications or branding.
The Wi-Fi Alliance also stated it had blocked Huawei, though the vendor appears to have subsequently been reinstated to the group’s list of members.
Source: mobileworldlive
