Trump Declares National Emergency to Block Chinese Spying

Alice Green

7 years ago

President Trump on Wednesday declared a national emergency and signed an executive order banning US companies from using any communications technology produced by &OpenCurlyQuote;foreign adversaries&period;’ &NewLine;The long-awaited ban, which is clearly aimed at Chinese tech companies Huawei and ZTE, is part of a broader effort to safeguard the US supply chain from foreign interference&period; The ban makes use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which gives Trump the power to regulate commerce as related to a national emergency&period;&NewLine;&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;China’s main export is espionage,” argues Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE)&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;And the distinction between the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese &OpenCurlyQuote;private-sector’ businesses like Huawei is imaginary&period;”&NewLine;Opponents of the ban include small rural carriers, who rely on Chinese-made parts because they are cheaper&period;&NewLine;Trump’s chief concern is that companies like Huawei will use their tech to share information with Beijing&period; If we use Chinese tech in our 5G networks, we risk giving Beijing access to everything from smart speakers to self-driving cars&period; &NewLine;&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Foreign adversaries are increasingly creating and exploiting vulnerabilities in information and communications technology and services&&num;8230&semi;in order to commit malicious cyber-enabled actions, including economic and industrial espionage against the United States and its people,&&num;8221&semi; wrote Trump&period; The &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;unrestricted acquisition or use” of Chinese communications technology &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States&period;”&NewLine;The executive order gives the Commerce Department five months to define which entities pose a national security risk&period; The department has already added Huawei to the Bureau of Industry and Security Entity List, meaning US companies must obtain a license in order to sell or transfer any technology to Huawei&period;&NewLine;In August 2018, Trump signed a bill blocking the US government from using any equipment produced by Huawei or ZTE&period; In December, US prosecutors charged Huawei&&num;8217&semi;s chief financial officer with bank and wire fraud related to alleged violations of US sanctions on Iran&period; &NewLine;In January, prosecutors accused Huawei of attempting to steal trade secrets from T-Mobile in Washington state&period; Last week, the FCC voted to ban China Mobile Ltd&period; from the US market over national security concerns&period;&NewLine;The executive order is also a signal to European allies that the US is serious about its decision to exclude Chinese companies from its 5G network&period; While Japan, Australia, and New Zealand have responded to Trump’s warnings, Canada, Britain and Germany remain unconvinced&period;&NewLine;