The White House Office of Management and Budget has asked the US Congress for more time to phase in a ban on federal contracts with companies that do business with Huawei Technologies Co, part of a defense law passed last year.
The ban is one part of a multifaceted US push against Huawei, the world’s largest telecoms network gear maker, which Washington has accused of espionage and stealing intellectual property.
Huawei has repeatedly denied it is controlled by the Chinese government, military or intelligence services. It has filed a lawsuit against the US government over the restrictions in the defense policy bill.
The defense law, called the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), placed a broad ban on the use of federal money to purchase products from Huawei, citing national security concerns.
It included a ban on direct federal purchases of Huawei equipment, which is to take effect this year.
However, the White House said the government needed two additional years to work out rules for another part of the law, which requires third-party suppliers and contractors to restrict their purchases and use of Huawei equipment.
“This is about ensuring that companies who do business with the US government or receive federal grants and loans have time to extricate themselves from doing business with Huawei and other Chinese tech companies listed in the NDAA,” office spokesman Jacob Wood said in a statement.
Acting office Director Russ Vought asked congressional leaders and US Vice President Mike Pence for the delay in a letter earlier this week.
Vought said the delay would “ensure the effective implementation of the prohibition without compromising desired security objectives,” and said there would be a “dramatic reduction” in the number of contractors able to sell to the US government without a delay.
Vought asked that restrictions against purchasing Huawei equipment imposed on government contractors begin in four years, rather than two years.
The delay would allow “additional time to think through the associated potential impacts and possible solutions,” he said.
The requested delay would not stop or affect the timing of a separate US Department of Commerce rule that added Huawei to its “entity list,” a blacklist that bans the company from buying parts and equipment from US firms without US government approval.
US President Donald Trump also last month signed an executive order that bars US companies from using telecommunications equipment made by firms deemed to post a national security risk.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was