The US Department of Commerce is considering issuing a temporary general license to prevent disruptions to existing networks.

Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump placed Huawei and 70 of its affiliates on a blacklist that would require US firms to request a license before selling components to the Chinese firm.

Trump also signed an executive order earlier this week that would prevent the US market from using equipment built and supplied by Huawei after declaring a “national emergency” over the alleged threats posed to the security of the country’s communications infrastructure.

In 2018, Huawei spent $11bn purchasing equipment from key tech firms such as Qualcomm and Intel in order to get chips required for Huawei equipment.

The US Department of Commerce is considering issuing a temporary general license “to prevent the interruption of existing network operations and equipment,” a spokeswoman told Reuters.

The move would allow Huawei to buy US goods in order to continue providing service to existing customers who need to maintain their networks. However, it would not be able to purchase components to build new products. The temporary general license would last 90 days.

Chinese authorities responded quickly to the proposed sanctions from the US this week, claiming that they would do what was needed to protect their companies.

Huawei Technologies CEO Ren Zhengfei says Huawei would be OK even if Qualcomm and other American suppliers would not sell chips to Huawei, because the company has been prepared for that.

"We have not done anything which violates the law," CEO Ren Zhengfei told Japanese media at company headquarters in Shenzhen on Saturday in his first interview since the U.S. decision to restrict trade with the Huawei.

Ren indicated that his company will continue developing its own chips to lessen the impact of the ban on its production. Huawei unit HiSilicon Technologies, which mainly designs core processor chips, has made similar allusions to plans for dealing with a potential disruption in supply. In a recent open letter, President Teresa He Tingbo wrote, "We actually have foreseen this day for many years, and we do have a backup plan."

Huawei's chief also rulded out the prospect of producing 5G equipment on American soil. "Even if the U.S. asks us to manufacture over there, we will not go," said Ren.