The tech conflict intertwined with the ongoing Sino-US trade tensions persists.

An official from the USA has directed Commerce Department enforcement personnel to regard China’s Huawei as a blacklisted entity. This directive emerges amidst a perplexing period, shortly after President Donald Trump pledged to relax the current prohibition on US technology sales to the company.

At the G20 summit on Saturday, Trump assured President Xi Jinping that American companies would be allowed to recommence selling to Huawei. Following the announcement, markets displayed optimism following months of Huawei’s placement on the “entity list,” which forbids US companies from selling to them without specific authorization. The ban was put in place as a punitive measure for alleged activities against US national security interests.

Despite the exuberant reception of Trump’s pledge at the G20 summit in Japan by US tech firms and the Chinese, it has resulted in some uncertainty. Businesses from China and the USA engaged with Huawei are still grappling with discerning the exact approach Trump intends to implement. This uncertainty has been compounded by the recent directives given to the enforcement staff at the US Commerce Department. The specific additional instructions or guidance that the department will provide to its staff remain unclear. The Commerce Department did not instantly respond to Reuters’ request for a comment.

On Tuesday, White House advisor Peter Navarro disclosed that the US government will permit sales of “lower tech” chips to Huawei as they are believed not to pose a threat to US national security.