1、 itif.org Backfire:Export Controls Helped Huawei and Hurt U.S.Firms RODRIGO BALBONTIN|OCTOBER 2025 Huawei is a more innovative company today than it was before the U.S.government sought to choke its supply chain.This case should serve as a lesson:U.S.techno-economic power is weaker than most think,a
2、nd sanctions often hurt U.S.competitiveness more than Chinas.KEY TAKEAWAYS The first Trump administration tried to limit sales of Huaweis telecom equipment in America and other nations due to cybersecurity concerns.The administration later imposed export controls on Huawei in an attempt to kill it f
3、or doing business with Iran.The U.S.governments rationale for its actions against Huawei is a legacy of an earlier era when America had enough power to impose crippling sanctions without harming its own companies competitiveness.Because of U.S.actions,Huawei developed its own operating system(OS),bu
4、ilt its own chips,and bought equipment from other nations.Despite U.S.actions against Huawei,it remains the worlds largest telecom equipment manufacturer,with a 34 percent global market share in 2024,up 2 percentage points from 2018.Meanwhile,Huawei succeeded in boosting its global market share in t
5、elecom equipment and expanding into new markets,such as smart automotive solutions.Indeed,Huawei asserts that it has built an ecosystem entirely independent from U.S.technologies.While export controls made Huawei a more robust competitor,they also hurt U.S.technology companiesreducing their sales to
6、 Huawei by$33 billion between 2021 and 2024and they triggered retaliation from the Chinese government.Its time for the U.S.government to rethink the use of export controls on China,recognizing that this is a new era when the effect is just as likely to backfire and hurt American companies and jobs.I