Huawei and ZTE Still Flagged as a Security Threat Under Biden Administration--Both Can't Get Licenses

Sophie Webster, Tech Times 12 November 2021, 04:11 pm

Huawei and ZTE are still considered a security threat by the United States government as U.S. President Joe Biden has just signed legislation that will stop them from getting new telecoms equipment licenses.

Huawei and ZTE Can't Get Licenses

According to Reuters, the Secure Equipment Act or SEA stated that the Federal Communications Commission or FCC should no longer review applications from foreign companies that are tagged as a threat.

This means that the equipment from all five Chinese companies cited by the FCC can no longer be used in the telecoms network in the United States. Both the Democrat and Republican senators approved the new bill.

On Oct. 28, the Senate voted on it unanimously. It passed through the House of Representatives with 420 votes in favor of the bill--only four senators are against it.

Also Read: Huawei Uses More Chinese Components, Up to 60% MORE in Latest Smartphones

In March, the FCC stated that it had identified five Chinese companies, including Huawei and ZTE--considered a threat to the country's national security under a 2019 law that was created to protect U.S. communications networks.

The FCC named Huawei and ZTE as part of the list, together with Hytera Communications Corp, Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co., and Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co.

However, the FCC was not required to deny them of their application to be a part of the U.S. network. Brendan Carr, the FCC Commissioner, said that the agency had approved at least 3,000 applications from the Chinese telecommunications company since 2018.

Carr stated that the Secure Equipment Act could make sure that the products from the Chinese companies can no longer be added to the communications networks in the U.S.

China criticized the crackdown. In June, Zhao Lilian, a spokesperson at China's foreign ministry, stated that the United States, without any evidence, abuses national security and state power to suppress Chinese companies.

The FCC has laid out new rules stating that it can revoke the licenses that it had issued to the Chinese companies at any time.

In October, the commission voted the withdraw the Chinese companies' permission to operate in the United States. They've cited national security concerns as a reason behind the move.

U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold a virtual meeting next week.

The Impact of the Sanction on Huawei

Huawei has admitted that the sanctions imposed on it by the United States back in 2019 have had a massive impact on its business, according to SCMP.

The U.S. govermnet claimed that the companies posed as a national security risk. The United Kingdom also said that it would exclude Huawei from building the 5G network.

Luckily, the company made a profit because of its growth in other markets. However, chairman Ken Hu said that the sanctions caused a lot of damage to them, according to the BBC.

At the launch of Huawei's report last year, Hu asked for a review of the critical technology and its global supply chain.

The Chinese telecommunications company has also tried to explain more about its ownership structure, arguing that it will not interfere with the Chinese state.

Hu described last year as a very challenging one for them because of the hit to their business and the slow revenue growth.

Last week, Huawei's founder urged the employees to fight until "one day they can't bully us anymore."