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The Trump administration has been at war with Huawei for the past two years, calling the company a national security risk for alleged ties to the Chinese government. An executive injunction prohibited companies (even international companies) from selling Huawei hardware or software containing US technology, and additional trade restrictions with Huawei have made it extremely difficult for the company to continue building network equipment and smartphones. It’s been a tough few years for Huawei, but will things be any different now that Biden’s administration is in charge?
As The Wall Street Journal reports, Huawei certainly seems to be sending feelers now that President Biden has settled in. One of the tools used against Huawei was an FCC ruling last year that declared Huawei a national security threat and prohibited US telecommunications companies from using government funding to purchase Huawei equipment. Huawei has filed a lawsuit in the US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, challenging the ruling, calling it “arbitrary, erratic and misuse of discretion,” and not supported by substantial evidence.
Xiaomi filed a similar lawsuit earlier this month after the Trump administration, in one of its last positions of power, declared Xiaomi a “communist Chinese military company” and denied US citizens access to Xiaomi stock. Xiaomi called the statement “illegal and unconstitutional”. arguing that it denied the company’s legal process.
The FCC has new leadership under Biden, but an FCC spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal that he supports the earlier ruling against Huawei. Last year, the FCC issued a final designation identifying Huawei as a threat to national security based on a significant body of evidence developed by the FCC and numerous US national security agencies, the spokesperson said, adding, “We will continue to defend that decision. ”The“ substantial body of evidence ”from the US showing that Huawei is spies for the Chinese government has never been made public.
The Biden administration is currently reviewing Trump’s old policies and doesn’t seem to have come to a conclusion on Huawei yet. The Department of Commerce is responsible for Huawei’s export ban, and while new secretary Gina Raimondo said she would “protect Americans and our network from Chinese interference,” she also declined to promise to uphold the Huawei ban until a review could be made. rounded.
Huawei began courting the Biden government earlier this week when Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei said he would welcome a phone call and open communication from the new president. “Expanding Huawei’s manufacturing capacity would open up more opportunities for US companies to deliver,” Ren told reporters. “I think this will be mutually beneficial. I believe that [the] new government would take such business interests into account when about to determine their new policies. “