U.S. government may finalize ban on federal contractors using equipment from Huawei this week
The Trump administration is set to finalize regulations this
week that ban the United States government from working with contractors who
use technology from five Chinese companies: Huawei, ZTE, Hikvision, Dahua and Hytera Communications, according to a Reuters report.
The ban was first introduced as a provision in the 2019
National Defense Authorization Act that prevents government agencies from
signing contracts with companies that use equipment, services and systems from
Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision and Dahua, or any of their subsidiaries and
affiliates, citing national security concerns.
Contractors were given until August 13, 2020 to comply, but
immediately began voicing concerns over the ambiguity of the law.
More recently, the National Defense Industrial Association,
a trade group, asked the government to extend the deadline because it said many
contractors are currently dealing with the economic impact of the COVID-19
pandemic, reported Defense News.
Another challenge for federal contractors is that the
companies on the blacklist are global market leaders in their respective
categories, making it harder to find alternatives.
For example, Huawei and ZTE
are two of the largest telecom equipment providers in the world; Dahua and
Hikvision are two of the biggest providers of surveillance equipment and
cameras; and Hytera is a market leader for two-way radios.
The ban is one of many entanglements Huawei has had with the
U.S. government since it was first identified as a national security threat,
along with ZTE, in a 2012 Congressional report.
In May 2019, Huawei filed a legal motion against the
provision in the National Defense Authorization Act, with the company’s chief
legal officer stating that “politicians in the U.S. are using the strength of
an entire nation to come after a private company.”
The United States, however, is not the only country with
national security concerns about Huawei.
On Thursday, for example, Reuters
reported that Telecom Italia (TIM) decided to exclude Huawei from its tender
for 5G equipment in Italy and Brazil, as the Italian government deliberates
whether to bar Huawei’s tech from the country’s 5G network.
Huawei told Reuters
that “the security and development of digital Italy should be based on an
approach grounded in facts and not baseless allegations.”
The United Kingdom is also reportedly considering a similar
ban on Huawei in its 5G network.
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