The drama between the United States and some Chinese companies continues on tenterhooks, now due to the establishment of new restrictions.
The communications regulator in the United States prohibited the approval of new telecommunications equipment manufactured by Chinese companies such as Huawei and ZTE, among others, again arguing that they represent “an unacceptable risk” for the national security of their country.
The United States tightened the bans applied to Chinese companies
The Federal Communications Commission of the United States (FTC) announced the establishment of new restrictions on the sale or import of equipment manufactured by Huawei, ZTE, plus other manufacturers of the Asian giant, such as the surveillance equipment company Dahua Technology, the video surveillance Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology and the telecommunications company Hytera Communications.
This determination was transversal and unanimous. The four commissioners of the FTC, which include two Republicans and two Democrats, signed on to this proposal last Friday.
One of the most remembered episodes of this confrontation between the United States and Chinese companies was the veto applied in 2019 on Huawei during the presidential term of Donald Trump. With the arrival of Joe Biden to the White House, things did not change much, since he aligned himself with these measures as a State policy. Without going too far, the FCC said in June 2021 that it was considering banning all equipment authorizations for all companies on its “blacklist” of national security threats.
Following this same path, the US authorities continue to uphold the same thesis as a justification for the new restrictions applied, alleging that from China they could be making use of the technologies of these companies to spy on the Americans.
“These new rules are an important part of our ongoing efforts to protect the American people from telecommunications-related national security threats.”, commented the president of the FCC, Jessica Rosenworcel, through a statement.
At the moment, the reaction of the companies affected by these new restrictions is not known. Given the press inquiries, Huawei declined to comment on the matter, while ZTE, Dahua, Hikvision and Hytera have not yet responded publicly.
