Published 18:54 IST, August 17th 2020
Pompeo announces measures to restrict China's Huawei from acquiring US technology
Pompeo announced that the Commerce Department has added 38 Huawei affiliates to its Entity List which will prevent the Chinese firm from circumventing US law.
- World News
- 2 min read
The United States dealt a massive blow to China-based Huawei by expanding the scope of Foreign Direct Product Rule which will prevent Huawei from circumventing US law. State Secretary Mike Pompeo announced that the Commerce Department has added 38 Huawei affiliates to its Entity List which identifies foreign parties prohibited from receiving certain sensitive technologies.
The latest measures are aimed at barring Huawei from alternative chip production and provision of off-the-shelf (OTS) chips produced with tools acquired from the United States. The State Department said that the measures follow the more limited expansion of the Foreign Direct Product Rule in May, which Huawei has continuously tried to evade.
'Arm of surveillance state'
Pompeo said that the Trump administration sees Huawei as an arm of the Chinese Communist Party’s surveillance state and the action has been taken to protect national security, citizens’ privacy, and the integrity of 5G infrastructure from Beijing’s “malign influence”. He added that the State Department has engaged in vigorous diplomacy for more than a year to share the knowledge on Huawei with allies and partners around the world.
“We will not tolerate efforts by the CCP to undermine the privacy of our citizens, our businesses’ intellectual property, or the integrity of next-generation networks worldwide,” the top diplomat said in a statement.
Earlier, the Department of Justice had indicted Huawei for stealing US technology, conspiracy, wire fraud, bank fraud, racketeering, and helping Iran to evade sanctions, amongst other charges. Pompeo said that the US has provided ample time for affected companies and persons to identify and shift to other sources of equipment, software, and technology and wind-down their operations.
“The United States will continue to restrict most U.S. exports to Huawei and its affiliates on the Entity List for activities that threaten U.S. national security and international stability. We urge our allies and partners to join us,” he concluded.
Updated 18:54 IST, August 17th 2020