The Trump administration is expected to release a rule Wednesday afternoon as part of a broader defense bill signed into law last year, a senior administration official told CNBC.
“The administration has a strong commitment to defending our nation from foreign adversaries and will fully comply with Congress on the implementation of the prohibition of Chinese telecom and video surveillance equipment, including Huawei equipment,” said Jacob Wood, a spokesman for the Office of Management and Budget.
Under the new rule the agencies are prohibited to purchase technologies and services from other telecom companies that have sparked security concerns, such as ZTE and Hikvision. The law also set a deadline of August 2020 for a broader ban on federal contractors doing business with Huawei or the covered firms. Contractors could potentially seek waivers from individual federal agencies if they do not believe their interaction with those companies poses a security threat.
The ban comes as a separate initiative from the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict Huawei’s technological influence in American industry. In May, the US government blacklisted Huawei over its alleged ties to Chinese intelligence. The sanctions barred US firms from dealing with the company without a special licence. The United States has also been pushing other countries to refrain from using Huawei’s equipment while adopting 5G network technology. Later in June, US President Donald Trump toned down the pressure, allowing US companies to sell components and spare parts to the still-blacklisted company.
