US blacklists Huawei amid ongoing IP trade row
The US Department of Commerce added Chinese telecoms company Huawei to a trade blacklist amid an ongoing IP trade row between the US and China on Thursday, May 16.
News of the ban came shortly after the US Department of Justice filed 23 criminal charges against Huawei, including allegations that it operated a rewards system for employees to incentivise the theft of trade secrets.
“The US government has determined that there is reasonable cause to believe that Huawei has been involved in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the US,” according to the document announcing the addition of Huawei to the Department of Commerce’s Entity List.
China-based Huawei’s inclusion on the list means that it cannot acquire components and technology from US firms without obtaining a licence from the US government. Huawei’s affiliates in 26 countries, including the UK, Japan, and Germany, are also restricted by the decision.
As reported by Reuters, the addition of Huawei to the list is a result of the US government’s belief that Huawei’s smartphones and network equipment could be used by China to spy on Americans and gain proprietary information.
The Department of Commerce said that the “imposition of licence conditions or licence denials on shipments” to Huawei and its affiliates with enhance the US government’s ability to prevent activities which are harmful to the national security or foreign policy interests of the US.
According to Reuters, a spokesperson for the Department of Commerce said that a temporary general licence may be issued to allow entities with Huawei apparatus to maintain their communications network and equipment.
The temporary licence, which would not apply to new transactions, would last for 90 days.
The day before the Department of Commerce added Huawei to the list, Trump signed an executive order declaring that threats to the information and communications technology and services supply chain by foreign adversaries are a “national emergency”.
Wilbur Ross, US secretary of commerce, explained: “President Trump is acting once again to protect US national security. This executive order addresses the threat posed by foreign adversaries to the nation's information and communications technology and services supply chain.”
Ren Zhengfei, founder and chief executive of Huawei, said that the company’s growth may slow but only “slightly” due to the US restrictions, according to Japanese news outlet Nikkei Asian Review.
In his first interview since news of Huawei’s addition to the Entity List was announced, Zhengfei told Japanese media that “we have not done anything which violates the law”.
The blacklisting of Huawei comes shortly after the US announced that it would raise tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods from 10% to 25%, with China’s Commerce Ministry pledging to take the necessary countermeasures in response.
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