U.S. government contracts banned from buying Huawei equipment

The U.S. government department in charge of contracts announced on Wednesday, August 7th an “interim rule” for a ban on the government buying any equipment from five Chinese companies including Huawei.

Reuters reported that the ban is part of a broader push by the government against Huawei, which the U.S. claims is a national security threat.

Huawei has denied any allegations of spying on citizens.

Hikvision, one of the five companies that are also banned from government contracts, said it would be committed to complying with laws, Reuters reported.

“Hikvision ‘has made efforts to ensure the security of our products adheres to what is mandated by the U.S. government,’” a spokesperson told Reuters.

Huawei, ZTE and Hytera have not responded to comments yet and Dahua could not be reached for a comment, Reuters indicated.

The interim rule will take effect on August 13th and the government will grant waivers to those contractors where there is no national security threat.

In May, Trump banned Huawei from doing any business with U.S. companies, that ban was slightly amended in June and the U.S. Commerce Department began allowing companies to apply for a licence to do business with Huawei so long as it does not pose a national security threat.

Similar efforts are in place in Canada where Huawei can’t bid on government contracts, a rule that was imposed by former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper in 2012.

Source: Reuters