Trump says the US will not do business with Huawei
The United States has been wary of Huawei communications equipment.
Fred Dufour / Getty Images
President Donald Trump said on Friday that the United States will not do business with the Chinese technology giant Huawei . The comment comes amid escalating trade tensions with China and may signal that the government will continue to grant licenses to US technology companies to to enter into agreements with Huawei .
In May, the U.S. Department of Commerce blacklisted Huawei over national security concerns, and required U.S. companies to be licensed to do business with Huawei. This followed an executive order from Trump that effectively banned Huawei from US communications networks. The Commerce Department granted a limited waiver from the restrictions and Trump reportedly agreed to grant licenses in a "timely" manner .
However, Bloomberg reported Friday that the White House will be licensing companies to deal with Huawei. Last week, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said he had received 50 requests and that decisions about them were still pending, according to Bloomberg.
"We're not going to do business with Huawei," Trump told reporters outside the White House on Friday. "That doesn't mean we won't agree on anything if and when we do a deal, but we're not going to do business with Huawei."
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
On Wednesday, the Trump administration released rules for a federal ban on telecommunications and video surveillance equipment and services from five Chinese companies, including Huawei and ZTE. The ban, mandated by Congress last year as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, comes into effect next week. The government has another year to meet broader NDAA restrictions that prohibit federal agencies from partnering with contractors who use products and services from Huawei and the other banned companies.
Huawei has been a target for US lawmakers over concerns about its Chinese government's coziness and fears that the equipment could be used to spy on other countries and companies. Huawei has repeatedly said that the fear is unfounded.
Huawei did not respond to a request for comment.
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Originally published August 9, 9:44 am PT.
Update, 12:02 am: strong19459070] Adds more background on the Huawei ban.
