White House prepares executive order for Donald Trump restricting Chinese telecoms firms over national security fears
- Sources say the measure has not yet been presented to Trump and does not name specific firms
- But it would give US commerce officials greater oversight of deals involving firms linked to adversarial countries, including China
The Trump administration is preparing an executive order that could significantly restrict Chinese state-owned telecommunications companies from operating in the US over national security concerns, according to people familiar with the matter.
The order, which has not yet been presented to the president, would not mention companies such as Huawei Technologies or ZTE Corp by name and would not outright ban US sales by the firms.
But it would give greater authority to the US Commerce Department to review products and purchases by companies connected to adversarial countries, including China, one of the people said.
Huawei is pushing to take a global leadership position in 5G, but many American officials suspect the company’s products could be used by Beijing to spy on Western governments and companies. Both Huawei and ZTE have also been targeted by the US for alleged schemes to dodge American sanctions on Iran.
Huawei executives have denied that the company is controlled by China’s government or that it is involved in espionage.
Rumours have abounded that the Trump administration would target Chinese telecom companies with an executive order to ban their US sales. Reuters reported in December that Trump would consider an order declaring a national emergency related to the firms.