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Thursday 16 May 2019
Trump issues order apparently aimed at China’s Huawei

By FRANK BAJAK and by The Washington Post last
TALI ARBEL June. Segal said that with
Associated Press U.S.-China trade talks at a
President Donald Trump is- standstill, the White House
sued an executive order “felt the time had finally
Wednesday apparently come to pull the trigger.”
aimed at banning equip- It is a “low cost signal of
ment from Chinese tele- resolve from the Trump ad-
communications giant ministration,” Segal said,
Huawei from U.S. networks. noting that there is little at
It declares a national eco- stake economically.
nomic emergency that All major U.S. wireless car-
empowers the government riers and internet provid-
to ban the technology and ers had already sworn off
services of “foreign adver- Chinese-made equipment
saries” deemed to pose after a 2012 report by the
unacceptable risks to na- House Intelligence Com-
tional security — including mittee said Huawei and
from cyberespionage and ZTE, China’s No. 2 tele-
sabotage. While it doesn’t coms equipment compa-
name specific countries ny, should be excluded as
or companies, it follows enablers of Beijing-direct-
months of U.S. pressure on In this March 7, 2019 file photo, a logo of Huawei is displayed at a shop in Shenzhen, China’s ed espionage. Last year,
Huawei. It gives the De- Guangdong province. Trump signed a bill that
partment of Commerce Associated Press barred the U.S. govern-
150 days to come up with national security circles for stalled by the manufactur- it would not be retroactive. ment and its contractors
regulations. the better part of a de- er to facilitate espionage Officials said “interim regu- from using equipment from
The order addresses U.S. cade. U.S. justice and in- by Beijing. Huawei vehe- lations” were expected be- the Chinese suppliers.
government concerns that telligence officials say Chi- mently denies involvement fore final rules were set but The FCC also has a rule in
equipment from Chinese nese economic espionage in Chinese spying. were vague on what that the works that would cut
suppliers could pose an es- and trade secret theft is A senior U.S. administra- meant. off subsidies for compa-
pionage threat to U.S. inter- rampant. U.S. officials have tion official, speaking on Washington and Beijing are nies that any equipment
net and telecommunica- presented no evidence, condition of anonymity, locked in a trade war that banned as posing a na-
tions infrastructure. Huawei, however, of any Huawei told reporters in a hastily partly reflects a struggle tional security threat. Hua-
the world’s biggest supplier equipment in the U.S. or arranged call that that the for global economic and wei’s handsets are virtually
of network gear, has been elsewhere being compro- order was “company and technological dominance. non-existent in the U.S. and
deemed a danger in U.S. mised by backdoors in- country agnostic” and said In a statement, Federal last week the FCC rejected
Communications Com- a Chinese phone compa-
mission Chairman Ajit Pai ny’s bid to provide domes-
called the executive order tic service .
“a significant step toward Only about 2 percent of
securing America’s net- telecom equipment pur-
works.” chased by North American
“It signals to U.S. friends carriers was Huawei-made
and allies how far Washing- in 2017. The domestic eco-
ton is willing to go to block nomic impact will be re-
Huawei,” said Adam Se- stricted mostly to small rural
gal, cybersecurity director carriers for whom Huawei
at the Council on Foreign equipment in particular
Relations. Many in Europe has been attractive due to
have resisted a fierce U.S. its lower costs.
diplomatic campaign to That could make it more
institute a wholesale ban difficult to expand access
on the Chinese company’s to speedy internet in rural
equipment in their next- areas.
generation 5G wireless net- Blair Levin, an adviser to
works. Sen. Mark Warner, research firm New Street
vice chair of the Senate Research and a former
Intelligence Committee FCC official, said the order
and a former telecoms ex- is likely to widen the digital
ecutive, called the order divide.
“a needed step” in a state- Roger Entner, founder of
ment endorsing the State telecom research firm Re-
Department’s contention con Analytics, tweeted:
that Chinese law compels “Banning Huawei in the
Huawei to act as an agent U.S. has the FCC in a co-
of the state. He cautioned, nundrum: Low cost Huawei
however, that its imple- equipment helps to build
mentation not “harm or out broadband in rural
stifle” legitimate business. America faster.” He won-
The order’s existence in dered if the FCC would sub-
draft form was first reported sidize small rural carriers.q