Micron resumes some Huawei shipments despite trade blacklist

Micron Technology, the largest US maker of computer memory chips, said it resumed some shipments to China’s Huawei Technologies, appearing to find a way around an export ban that threatens growth for the semiconductor industry.

Micron, which explained the decision on Tuesday as it reported earnings, studied the export restrictions and determined “a subset” of products it sells to Huawei are not subject to the rules, Chief Executive Officer Sanjay Mehrotra said on a conference call. That sent stock surging as much as 11 per cent in extended trading.

Micron was forced to halt shipments to one of its largest customers after the Trump administration banned Huawei from buying American technology.

Micron makes chips used as the main memory in computers and as storage in mobile devices. Sales to the Chinese telecommunications company generate about 13 per cent of Micron’s annual revenue, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“We began those shipments in the last two weeks,” Mehrotra said. The company completed its own review of the various and complex restrictions on supplying the Chinese company and made its own decision, he said, without providing further specifics.

Micron’s announcement helped other chip shares gain. The Boise, Idaho-based company’s stock had been among the most hardest hit this year by concern that a trade war between would cut US companies off from their largest market, China.