President Trump has signed an executive order that paves the way for the US government to ban technology sales from Chinese vendor Huawei and anyone else it views as a national security threat.
The executive order, published on Wednesday, mentions no countries or companies by name. But it comes as the White House is facing a trade war with China. The Trump administration has also been outspoken in trying to stop adoption of Huawei's 5G technology over concerns it'll lay the groundwork for Chinese state-sponsored espionage.
On the same day, the US Commerce Department reportedly placed Huawei on an "entity list" that bans US companies from selling sensitive technologies to the Chinese vendor unless they secure government approval. US officials told Reuters the action may make it difficult, and potentially impossible, for Huawei to sell some products due the company's reliance on US suppliers.
In issuing today's executive order, Trump declared a national emergency over foreign threats attempting to exploit vulnerabilities in the US's IT and communications infrastructure for spying purposes. He went to claim the "unrestricted acquisition" of technology from companies under the jurisdiction of foreign adversaries only magnifies the dangers.
"This threat exists both in the case of individual acquisitions or uses of such technology or services," Trump said in the executive order, later adding: "Such openness (in trade) must be balanced by the need to protect our country against critical national security threats."
The executive order calls for the US Commerce Secretary and Trump's cabinet to come up with the rules to identify which "countries or person" actually represent foreign adversaries within the next 150 days.
Our team at @CommerceGov is committed to ensuring that information and communication technology and services in the United States provide a safe and secure foundation for innovation and economic prosperity. #ICTSupplyChain — Sec. Wilbur Ross (@SecretaryRoss) May 15, 2019
The executive order's wording is also broad; for instance, it seeks to ban technology sales that pose an "unacceptable risk" to the US's national security or may cause "sabotage", without defining the terms. However, the Commerce Secretary can also choose to address any infringing transaction from a foreign adversary by imposing certain rules before a deal takes place.
To help identify the dangers, the executive order requires both the Department of Homeland Security and the Director of National Intelligence to issue reports in the coming weeks outlining the threats to the US's technology industry.
Huawei has told journalists that today's executive order "will only serve to limit the US to inferior yet more expensive alternatives" on 5G technology. However, the company is willing to engage with the US on coming up with measures to ensure product security.
The company has also adamantly denied it would ever help the Chinese government engage in cyber espionage. In the UK, Huawei has gone as far to commit signing a "no-spy" deal with the country's authorities.
US officials, on the other hand, are making it a top priority to secure the technology supply chain form potential Chinese tampering. Last week, Trump also raised tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, and has threatened to impose additional tariffs on all remaining Chinese imports in the coming months.
Editor's Note: This story has been updated with information about the Commerce Dept. adding Huawei to the entity list.