Huawei dodged the prospect of tougher restrictions on access to US-made components after the Department of Commerce halted plans to expand terms of a trade ban due to concerns about the potential impact to domestic businesses, Reuters reported.

The DoC had been looking at ways to further restrict Huawei since November 2019, exploring a rule which would increase its authority over exports to Huawei due to concerns among officials that key supply chains remained out of its reach.

Currently, the US can block or require companies to obtain a licence for the sale of products to Huawei where domestic components comprise 25 per cent or more of the finished goods.

The DoC drafted rules to lower the 25 per cent threshold to 10 per cent and include more non-technical goods to give it more authority.

However, the Department of Defence (DoD) disagreed with the proposal, which led to the DoC temporarily pulling the plan out of a review process.

A source told Reuters the DoD cited concerns from US businesses, which have argued increased regulation on sales to Huawei would unnecessarily hurt companies in the country and ultimately result in the vendor looking abroad for its goods.

The government reportedly plans to hold a meeting this week to address the issue.