FILE – In this Thursday, March 7, 2019 file photo, the Texas state flag files outside the Huawei Technologies Ltd. business location in Plano, Texas. President Donald Trump issued an executive order Wednesday, May 15, 2019, apparently aimed at banning equipment from Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei from U.S. networks. It does not name specific countries or companies and gives the Department of Commerce 150 days to come up with regulations. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)The Trump administration’s plan to restrict exports to Chinese telecommunications powerhouse Huawei for national security reasons doesn’t just up the ante in the China trade war.
It could also hurt U.S. suppliers and accelerate Beijing’s drive toward greater technological independence.
The White House issued an executive order Wednesday apparently aimed at banning Huawei’s equipment from U.S. telecom networks and information infrastructure. The U.S. government also said it was subjecting the Chinese company to strict export controls.
The U.S. government has long insisted that equipment from Chinese suppliers, including Huawei, poses an espionage threat. But U.S. officials have presented no evidence of any Huawei equipment serving as intentional conduits for espionage by Beijing.
About one-third of Huawei’s suppliers are American and, ironically, many of the computer chips, memory and other components it gets from U.S. companies are made in China, said Roger Entner, founder of telecom research firm Recon Analytics.