U.S. Fines Seagate US$ 300 million For Selling to Huawei
Posted on 04/20/2023
The U.S. Department of Commerce has alleged that Seagate Technology shipped more than US$ 1.1 billion worth of goods to Huawei after export controls were set in 2020. The U.S. has been stepping up its enforcement due to worries China could use the technologies militarily. U.S. ally Japan has also refused to sell advanced hardware to China. Seagate will pay US$ 15 million per quarter for five years. Seagate shipped 7.4 million drives to Huawei after the Trump administration ordered the sales to cease. The Department of Commerce’s Matthew Axelrod said: “This settlement is a clarion call about the need for companies to comply rigorously with export rules, as our enforcement team works to ensure both our national security and a level playing field.”
Companies with 5G technology, including Huawei, have been banned from installing equipment in the U.S., Australia, Japan, and Canada. Meanwhile, the U.K. government has ordered equipment installed by Huawei to be removed from 5G technology over the next four years.
Seagate is widely owned through index funds, including Vanguard’s Total Return, Windsor, S&P 500, and Mid-Cap Fund. Fidelity, SPDR, and JPMorgan index funds are also major shareholders. Vanguard’s Total Return Fund owns nearly 400,000 shares alone, and iShares’ Select Dividend ETF has 300,000.
