A new executive order by American’s President, Donald Trump, is enabling a ban on Huawei telecom products. Trump declares a national emergency to pave the way for the expulsion of the Chinese firm from the US market.
The Republican president signed an executive order on Wednesday, 15th May 2019, to stop American companies from using telecommunication products “made by technology companies that pose a national security threat.”
The new order means that there will be a ban on doing business with the Chinese telecom giant, Huawei. The action, which has now eventually been implemented, was being contemplated for over a year. However, it kept experiencing some delays.
The White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, in a statement said,
“The president has made it clear that this administration will do what it takes to keep America safe and prosperous, and to protect America from foreign adversaries who are actively and increasingly creating and exploiting vulnerabilities in information and communications technology infrastructure and services in the United States.”
The new order will subsequently target transactions posing risks to the security of the United States digital economy or infrastructure. Top American administration officials have confirmed that more specific regulations will be available in about 150 days. It will contain prohibitions to firms designed and controlled by foreign enemies.
Furthermore, this new embargo on Huawei’s products means that American companies will require a licence to sell to Huawei.
The latest announcement comes amidst the growing trade wars between China and the US. The world’s two largest economies are imposing different tariffs. This has caused a decline in retail sales in China over the past month. It has also negatively affected industrial production and investments.
Huawei subsequently responded to this move by decrying the restrictions. The company expressed willingness to dialogue with the American government to come up with more effective measures to ascertain product security.
Huawei in a statement on Thursday, 16th May 2019, said,
“Restricting Huawei from doing business in the US will not make the US more secure or stronger; instead, this will only serve to limit the US to inferior yet more expensive alternatives, leaving the US lagging behind in 5G deployment, and eventually harming the interests of US companies and consumers.”
The company added that “unreasonable restrictions will infringe upon Huawei’s rights and raise other serious legal issues.”
Huawei’s executive director, David Wang had on Wednesday, 15th May 2019, said United States restrictions on market access would have little effect on their company’s business prospects. The company, which happens to be China’s first international tech brand, has actually continued to expand and grow despite claims from the US and other governments that it poses a security risk.