The US Commerce Department will allow Huawei Technologies to purchase American-made goods in order to maintain existing networks and provide software updates to existing Huawei handsets. The company is still prohibited from buying American parts and components to manufacture new products without license approvals that likely will be denied. The new authorization, which is in effect for 90 days, gives telecommunications providers that rely on Huawei equipment time to make other arrangements, US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said in a statement.

Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei on Tuesday shrugged off US attempts to block his company's global ambitions, saying the US underestimates the telecom giant's strength.