US President Donald Trump is mulling an executive order for the new year that would ban US companies from using telecom equipment from Huawei as well as ZTE, Reuters reported, citing three sources familiar with the situation. The US earlier warned allies about working with equipment from Huawei, including Germany, Italy and Japan. The US believes the two companies are too closely linked to the Chinese government and so pose a security risk, as their equipment could be used to spy on US citizens.
The text of the executive order, in the works for the past eight months, has not yet been finalised. It would invoke the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a law that gives the president the authority to regulate commerce in response to a national emergency that threatens the US. The order would follow the passage of a defense policy bill in August that barred the US government itself from using Huawei and ZTE equipment.
UK Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson recently said he had “grave” and “very deep concerns” about Huawei providing 5G networks in the UK. A former director of the country’s GCHQ has however warned about a “sort of hysteria” about Chinese tech in general and Huawei in particular. Robert Hannigan called for a “calmer and more dispassionate approach”.
Rural operators dependent on Huawei, ZTE
Rural operators in the United States are among the biggest customers of Huawei and ZTE, and fear the executive order would also require them to replace existing Chinese-made equipment without compensation. Industry officials are divided on whether the administration could legally compel operators to do that.
William Levy, VP for sales of Huawei Tech USA, is on the board of directors of the Rural Wireless Association. The RWA estimates that 25 percent of its members had Huawei or ZTE equipment in their networks, it said in a filing to the Federal Communications Commission earlier this month. The organisation has said it would cost USD 800 million to USD 1 billion for all RWA members to replace their Huawei and ZTE equipment, Bennet said.
Separately, the FCC in April granted initial approval to a regulation that bars giving federal funding to help pay for telecommunication infrastructure to companies that purchase equipment from firms deemed as a threat to US national security, which analysts have said is aimed at Huawei and ZTE.
