Trump Considering Order to Ban Huawei Purchases After Spying Allegations: Report
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President Trump is reportedly considering an executive order in the new year that would ban U.S. companies from using equipment made by China’s Huawei and ZTE. Three unnamed sources told Reuters the ban has been under consideration for more than eight months and could be issued as soon as January. It would reportedly block U.S. companies from buying equipment from foreign telecommunications makers that pose significant national-security risks. The U.S. says the two companies—China’s biggest telecom firms—work for the Chinese government and that their equipment could be used for espionage. The sources said the text for the order has not been finalized but it’s unlikely to name Huawei or ZTE directly. It would invoke the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a law that gives the president the authority to regulate commerce in response to a national emergency. It would follow the passage of a defense bill in August that barred the U.S. government itself from using Huawei and ZTE equipment.