The Trump administration said Monday it’s tightening restrictions on the Chinese telecom company Huawei, or as President Trump calls it — “SpyWei.”
The administration will block Huawei from using alternative chip production to circumvent U.S. law and intends to do so by by expanding its foreign direct product rule authority under export control law.
A previous decision in May was specifically aimed at Huawei-made chips, but Monday’s decision affects chips that come into Huawei’s possession from U.S. manufacturers or chips that use U.S.-developed software, according to a Commerce Department official.
“We don’t want their equipment in the United States because they spy on us,” Mr. Trump told “Fox & Friends.” “And any country that uses it, we’re not going to do anything in terms of sharing intelligence. Absolutely, Huawei is a disaster.”
Alongside expanding the foreign direct product rule, the Commerce Department has also added 38 Huawei affiliates to its list of foreign entities prevented from getting certain technologies.
“As we have restricted its access to U.S. technology, Huawei and its affiliates have worked through third parties to harness U.S. technology in a manner that undermines U.S. national security and foreign policy interests,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said in a statement on Monday. “This multi-pronged action demonstrates our continuing commitment to impede Huawei’s ability to do so.”
The Commerce Department is leading the new crackdown against Huawei with the backing of the State Department.
“We will not tolerate efforts by the [Chinese Communist Party] to undermine the privacy of our citizens, our business’ intellectual property, or the integrity of next generation networks worldwide,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement on Monday.
Former Rep. Mike Rogers, Michigan Republican and chairman of advocacy group 5G Action Now, said the Trump administration’s newest actions shut down a vulnerability that Huawei could exploit at the behest of China and was evidence of “steady, continued progress” by the administration.
• Ryan Lovelace can be reached at rlovelace@washingtontimes.com.
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