Huawei, long resilient, suffers under tougher US pressure

BEIJING (AP) — For nearly a decade, Huawei kept worldwide sales growing as Washington told U.S. phone companies not to buy its network equipment and lobbied allies to reject China's first global tech brand as a security threat.

Focusing on Europe, Asia, Africa and China's booming market, Huawei became the biggest maker of switching gear and a major smartphone brand. As the White House cut off access to American components and Google’s popular music and other smartphone services, Huawei unveiled its own processor chips and app development. Last year’s sales rose 19% to $123 billion.

Now, Huawei Technologies Ltd. is suffering in earnest as Washington intensifies a campaign to slam the door on access to foreign markets and components in its escalating feud with Beijing over technology and security.

European and other phone carriers that bought Huawei gear despite U.S. pressure are removing it from their networks. Huawei got a flicker of good news when it passed rivals Samsung and Apple as the No. 1 smartphone brand in the quarter ending in June thanks to sales in China, but demand abroad is plunging.

“Huawei is losing market share quite dramatically outside China,” said industry analyst Paul Budde. “Their international position is most likely going to get worse rather than better.”

In the latest blow, the Commerce Department this week confirmed rules announced in May that will bar non-American companies from using U.S. technology to make processor chips and other components for Huawei without a government license.

The president of Huawei's consumer business, Richard Yu, says it is running out of chips for smartphones. Yu said as of Sept. 15, contractors will be forced to stop making Kirin chips designed by Huawei's engineers and used in its most advanced...