Huawei Technologies has warned that proposed US restrictions on chip-making equipment will likely hurt Africa.

Huawei Technologies has warned that proposed US restrictions on chip-making equipment will likely hurt Africa and disrupt the semiconductor supply chains at a global level.

“With a massive growth in technology across the continent, growing over 50% in the last several years, Africa needs to have a share in the global semiconductors industry to ensure its competitiveness in the future,” the company said.

Under the proposed changes, foreign companies that use US chip-making equipment could be required to obtain a US license before supplying certain chips to Huawei.

Edison Xie, director for media affairs, Huawei Southern Africa region said in a media statement that the proposed restrictions could backfire on US companies as others will just develop their own supply chain.

Xie said these new measures would undermine the basic principles of international trade and that the move will create more uncertainties in the global industry of semiconductors, the centrepiece of ICTs that transform society for the better.

He added if these rules were to take effect, even if merely one piece of US-origin equipment, say a screwdriver purchased from the US years ago was to be used at any step in the production of chips, chipmakers outside of the US would have to seek approval from the US government.

He said in 2019, the global market for semi-conductors was projected to shrink by 12% due growing economic uncertainties from the US-China trade war.

In March 2020 the IDC predicted that revenue in the global semiconductor industry was likely to fall by 6% in 2020, mainly due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.

Xie said: “These new technologies which enable new technologies like artificial intelligence, 5G and the Internet of Things, have been playing a critical role in Africa’s social-economic development. When the COVID-19 pandemic is behind us, ICT and digital economy will also play a critical role in economic recovery.”

He said the global semiconductor chain has taken decades to build and that semiconductor modules are highly interdependent and that no company or country can build up comprehensive supply chain on their own.

“A report by the Boston Consulting Group states further escalation in the US export control to Huawei will end US leadership in the semiconductor sector and will consequently decouple US and Chinese technology industries.”