Trump’s order to target Huawei

PRESIDENT Donald Trump has issued an executive order seemingly aimed at banning equipment from Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei from US networks.

It declares a national economic emergency that allows the government to ban technology of “foreign adversaries”.

The order addresses US government concerns that equipment from Chinese suppliers could pose an espionage threat to internet and telecommunications infrastructure.

Huawei, the world’s biggest supplier of network gear, has long been deemed a danger in US national security circles.

US officials have presented no evidence, however, of any Huawei equipment being compromised to facilitate espionage by Beijing.

Huawei vehemently denies any spying involvement.

“It signals to US friends and allies how far Washington is willing to go to block Huawei,” said Adam Segal, cybersecurity director at the Council on Foreign Relations. It is a “low cost signal of resolve from the Trump administration,” Segal said, noting there was little at stake economically.

Last year, Mr Trump signed a bill that barred the US government and its contractors from using equipment from the Chinese suppliers.

Only about 2 per cent of telecom equipment purchased by US carriers was Huawei-made in 2017.

The domestic economic impact will be restricted mostly to small rural carriers for whom Huawei equipment, in particular, has been attractive due to its lower costs.

That could make it more difficult to expand access to speedy internet in rural areas.

Blair Levin, an adviser to research firm New Street Research and a former FCC official, said the order was likely to widen the digital divide in the country.

Early this year, the Justice Department unsealed criminal

IT SIGNALS TO US FRIENDS AND ALLIES HOW FAR WASHINGTON IS WILLING TO GO TO BLOCK HUAWEI. ADAM SEGAL

charges against Huawei, a top company executive and several subsidiaries, alleging the company stole trade secrets, misled banks about its business and violated US sanctions on Iran.

The sweeping indictments accused the company of using extreme efforts to steal trade secrets from US businesses – including trying to take a piece of a robot from a T-Mobile lab.

The executive charged is Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, who is also the daughter of the company’s founder.

She was arrested in Canada last December. The US is seeking to extradite her.