Brazil may face ‘consequences’ if it gives Huawei 5G access, says US ambassador
- Top diplomat says funds available for US allies who choose to buy telecoms infrastructure from ‘trustworthy suppliers’
- Huawei has warned that Brazil could suffer years of delay in deploying 5G network if it succumbs to US pressure to snub Chinese tech giant
The top US diplomat in Brazil said in a newspaper interview that the country may face “consequences” if it allows China’s Huawei Technologies into its 5G network, referring to US warnings that China fails to protect intellectual property.
The US government has stepped up efforts to limit Huawei’s role in rolling out high-speed, fifth-generation technology in Latin America’s largest economy. It believes Huawei would hand over data to the Chinese government for spying. Huawei denies it spies for China.
US Ambassador Todd Chapman told O Globo that Brazil would not face reprisals for picking Huawei, but could face consequences.
“Each country is responsible for its decisions,” Chapman was quoted as saying. “The consequences we are seeing in the world are that firms involved in intellectual property are scared to make investments in countries where that intellectual property is not protected.”
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Chapman added that the US International Development Finance Corp, an agency created by President Donald Trump to boost US overseas development financing efforts to counter China’s influence, has US$60 billion in its coffers.