Donald Trump expected to sign executive order this week paving way for US telecoms ban on Huawei
- Move would bar US companies from using telecoms equipment made by firms posing national security risk
- Order, which will not name specific countries or companies, has been under consideration for more than a year but has repeatedly been delayed
US President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order this week barring US companies from using telecommunications equipment made by firms posing a national security risk, paving the way for a ban on doing business with China’s Huawei, three US officials familiar with the plan said.
The order, which will not name specific countries or companies, has been under consideration for more than a year but has repeatedly been delayed, the sources said, asking not to be named because the preparations remain confidential. It could be delayed again, they said.
The executive order would invoke the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which gives the president the authority to regulate commerce in response to a national emergency that threatens the United States. The order will direct the Commerce Department, working with other government agencies, to draw up a plan for enforcement, the sources said.
If signed, the executive order would come at a delicate time in relations between China and the US as the world’s two largest economies ratchet up tariffs in a battle over what US officials call China’s unfair trade practices.
Washington believes equipment made by Huawei, the world’s third largest smartphone maker, could be used by the Chinese state to spy. Huawei, which has repeatedly denied the allegations, did not immediately comment.
The White House and Commerce Department declined to comment.