Huawei warns American consumers about warranty issues after decision to withhold new flagship smartphones from US market

China’s leading smartphone vendor Huawei Technologies said it will not sell its latest flagship Mate 20 mobile phone models in the US, warning that consumers who purchase the handsets from online US retail sites may encounter warranty and after-sales service issues.

“We are not planning to sell the Mate 20 Series in the US,” Huawei said on Tuesday, a week after its London launch of four high-end models under its flagship Mate 20 series.

“While international variants of the Mate 20 Series may be available on some US online retail sites, we encourage individuals to carefully read the details about the warranty and network compatibility before purchasing,” Huawei said in the statement.

Huawei’s decision follows a slew of setbacks it experienced in the world’s largest economy this year, including a last minute setback in the planned US launch of its previous Mate series, after it was accused of ties to the Chinese government amid a deterioration in political and trade relations between the world’s two largest economies.

Security concerns were widely reported to have prompted AT&T to walk away from a smartphone distribution deal with Huawei ahead of the Chinese firm’s launch of its Mate 10 Pro handset at the CES trade show in Las Vegas in January. Later it was reported that Verizon Communications also abandoned plans to distribute Huawei’s smartphones in the US.

Several US electronics retailers including Best Buy, which had been selling unlocked Huawei phones, ceased sales of smartphones from the Chinese company following the decision by US carriers. In May, the Pentagon also ordered retail outlets on US military bases to stop selling Huawei and ZTE phones.