Trump mulling order to bar US purchases from big China tech
WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump is considering an executive order in the new year to declare a national emergency that would bar US companies from using telecommunications equipment made by China’s Huawei and ZTE, three sources familiar with the situation told Reuters.
It would be the latest step by the Trump administration to cut Huawei Technologies and ZTE, two of China’s biggest network equipment companies, out of the US market. The US alleges that the two firms work at the behest of the Chinese government and that their equipment could be used to spy on Americans.
The executive order, which has been under consideration for more than eight months, could be issued as early as January and would direct the Commerce Department to block US companies from buying equipment from foreign telecommunications makers that pose significant national security risks, sources from the telecoms industry and the administration said.
While the order is unlikely to name Huawei or ZTE, a source said it is expected that Commerce officials would interpret it as authorisation to limit the spread of equipment made by the two companies. The sources said the text for the order has not been finalised.
The executive order 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 United States.
The issue has new urgency as US wireless carriers look for partners as they prepare to adopt next-generation
5G wireless networks. The order follows the passage of a defense policy bill in August that barred the US government itself from using Huawei and ZTE equipment.
Huawei and ZTE did not return requests for comment. Both in the past have denied allegations their products are used to spy. The White House also did not return a request for comment.
The Wall Street Journal first reported in early May that the order was under consideration, but it was never issued. — Reuters
Hit to rural networks
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 rip out existing Chinesemade equipment without compensation. Industry officials are divided on whether the administration could legally compel operators to do that.
While the big U wireless companies have cut ties with Huawei in particular, small rural carriers have relied on Huawei and ZTE switches and other equipment because they tend to be less expensive.
The company is so central to small carriers that William Levy, vice-president for sales of Huawei Tech USA, is on the board of directors of the Rural Wireless Association.