Tag: Regulation

Apple Downsizing Production In China

Tensions between the US and China regarding trade have had implications on a global scale. The trade ‘War’ has already claimed victims with Huawei, that is facing various restrictions on its business practice within America. Western corporations have been wary of collaborating with Huawei since the ban, fearing allegations and federal lawsuits. A fresh report reveals that Apple is currently seeking to shift a part of its production away from China. This arrives after China’s warning issued towards the US and certain internal issues faced by the company.

Apple, like Huawei, is one of the companies that are vulnerable to the crossfire between the two nations. Due to the uneven ground between Washington and Beijing, the company is looking to shift a part of its entire production from the southeastern nation. The smartphone manufacturer has been planning diversification to other countries for a while now, citing issues from “high labour costs and risk of overly centralizing its production.”

The countries being considered for such a large scale relocation to include India, Mexico, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Apple is currently leaning towards India and Vietnam in particular. Furthermore, older iPhones are already being produced in India which will help ease the transition since 90% of the Apple products currently available are still made in China. The company will move between 15-30% of all production, “with or without the final round of $300 billion tariffs.”

Also Read: Samsung Galaxy Note 10’s Display Will Double Up As A Speaker

Apple has seen global success owing to China as its main base of operations. However, the political strifes, unstable trade, and issues within the eastern countries demographics are pushing the company to reallocate the manufacturing process entirely. This event will turn out to be an extremely expensive move for the company, requiring an estimated 3 years as well. Notably, this will only seek to benefit the company in the long run and hopefully bring the economic price to developing countries.

June 20, 2019
Huawei Cancels MateBook X And E Over US Trade Ban

Huawei had unveiled its new series of laptops dubbed the MateBook at the CES Asia and MWC in 2019. However, the onset of the US trade ban that has led to the cancellation of the new laptop lineup. The news arrives after Huawei faced the implications of being placed in the US Entity List (National Security Threat List), this has made the company unable to supply the PC. The CEO of the Chinese tech giant called the current string of events “unfortunate” and the availability of the laptop is dependent on “how long the Entity List will be there.”

Huawei had previously announced plans for a MateBook X and E series laptop. The higher specced X series were to be equipped with Intel Core series chipsets while the E series were to sport ARM architecture based Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 with an affordable price tag. Both laptops would have run on the Windows 10 OS but are still highly unlikely to ship globally. The aftermath of the US and China trade wars are still uncertain with China preparing its own retaliation against the US.

The US President, Donald Trump had his administration pass an executive order on May claiming Huawei as a threat to national security. This implies that the US companies are barred from collaborating with the corporation that is designated threats to the US. Huawei was singled out as the tensions started rising between the trade of the US and China. Any multi-national corporation placed in the Entity List will have its business in the US severely restrictive. The company can no longer buy or utilize US tech with Governments approval.

Huawei, after the ban, could no longer work with any software or hardware that were based in the US. This led to companies like Intel (CPU chipsets), Google (Android OS), ARM (Smartphone Chipset Architecture), Wi-Fi Alliance and many more to stop all business related ventures with the accused company. Since Huawei no longer has access to any of the aforementioned companies’ technology and software, it is practically impossible to hold a business model under such restrictions.

Also Read: Pixel 4 Design Revealed By Google

Additionally, the Commerce Department of the US has left a 90-day window for Huawei to practice with a temporary general license. This, in turn, shall allow the company to complete all necessary and on-going contracts and agreements that are legally binding towards it. However, a report from China has since disputed that the MateBook will supposedly launch in July running Windows OS from Microsoft.

June 13, 2019
China Prepares A Counter Strike On The Huawei Ban

Trade relations between the US and China are rising in intensity again with China preparing for a response against the US ban on Huawei. The southeast Asian country has taken special measures to restrict the trade of rare earth elements to the US, placing the western country in its own ‘entity’ list. This puts the US in a blacklist as an unfavourable foreign company.

Japan’s SoftBank, taking the market opportunity has announced its plans for building its 5G network with equipment from Nokia and Ericsson amidst the turmoil. Huawei prior to this had been the supplier for 4G and was planned to collaborate alongside SoftBank for the same.

The restrictions on rare earth elements stand as a signal from the Beijing leaders of its willingness to retaliate with countermeasures in place. This, however, is reported to only be actually deployed if the trade war between the US and China worsens with time. One of the important rare elements derived from China is Neodymium, a popular industrial grade element used to make magnets. It is often seen advertised spec sheets of audio gear such as earphones and headsets. The US according to various trade experts and researchers have no outside alternative worthwhile apart from China.

The Chinese phone manufacturer, Huawei sits in the middle of the trade war zone. Taking a massive hit on its business with the loss of its huge deal with SoftBank related to 5G networking. This incident came after Huawei was claimed to be a national threat by the US President Donald Trump and placed in the Bureau of Industry and Security’s Entity List that has its business operations in America crippled.

Also Read: Apple Planning On Removing 3D Touch Feature In Future iPhones

Actions questioning Huawei’s networking equipment and services have never been raised although concerns regarding security have driven its potential business operations away from it. The company’s affiliation with the Chinese Government only worsens relations with foreign companies like the Japanese SoftBank who’s decision is only a result of such accusations thrown about. Regardless of how soon or how smoothly the trade tensions die out, Huawei’s brand trust with confidentiality in mind will remain as trauma in the minds of its future partners.

May 31, 2019
UK Readies Itself With Military-Grade Protection From Drones
After a few disastrous incidents of flight delays, cancellations and near misses, UK is all set to put regulations in place for drone flights near airports. It is also reported that all major UK airports now have or will soon have military grade anti-drone equipment.

UK’s Drone Regulations

Very recently the military were called in to help when drone sightings causing massive delays at Heathrow Airport. Another such incident involved Gatwick airport when drone flights caused major disruption affecting 140,000 passengers just before Christmas. UK government wishes to or already has technology installed at other critical infrastructure such as prisons, power stations and military sites. Gatwick Airport in a statement said that it had spent £5m to prevent future attacks.

The current drone regulations in UK suggests:
- Drone must be in line of sight at all times
- Not within 50m of people, vehicles or buildings
- No higher than 120m
The government in UK are also said to expand technology to detect and repel drones from sites like airports and prisons. A new legislation will reportedly give police additional powers to land drones. They will also be granted the power to require users to produce the appropriate documentation if they deem it necessary.

India’s Drone Regulations

On the other hand, India lifted the blanket ban that it had put in place for a long time, in December 2018. However, this has been lifted partially and will now allow commercial activities and drone flights. Drone Regulation 1.0 is a step to open up the use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPAs) for commercial activities.

The regulation is formulated by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and it has created a huge base for a drone ecosystem in the country. Under this regulation the airspace has been partitioned into Red Zone (flying not permitted), Yellow Zone (controlled) and Green Zone (automatic permission). Permission to fly a drone can be taken using an App. The app is called Digital Sky.

The current regulations for a drone flight in India are:
- During day light (except those flying in enclosed spaces)
- Within visual line of sight (VLoS)
- A maximum height of 400 feet above ground limit (AGL)
Drones will not be able to take flight in “no drone zones”. These include areas close to airports, international borders, State Secretariat Complex in state capitals, strategic locations/vital and military installations. If your drone flight causes damage or injury, you might face penalties under the Aircraft Act 1934, and charged under the IPC sections 287, 336, 337, and 338 which can include anything between Rs 250 fine to two years in jail.
January 12, 2019