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The Trump administration has been waging war with Huawei for the past two years, calling the company a national security risk because of its alleged ties to the Chinese government. An executive order has banned companies (even international companies) from selling Huawei hardware or software incorporating US technology, and additional restrictions on trade with Huawei have made it extremely difficult for the company to build network equipment and smartphones. It’s been a tough few years for Huawei, but now that Biden’s administration is in charge, will things be different?
As The Wall Street Journal reports, it looks like Huawei is definitely sending out feelers now that President Biden has settled down. One of the instruments used against Huawei was an FCC ruling last year that declared Huawei a national security threat and barred US telecommunications companies from government funding to buy Huawei equipment. Huawei has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in which it disputes the ruling, calling it ‘arbitrary, fickle and abuse of discretion and not supported by material evidence.
Xiaomi filed a similar lawsuit earlier this month after the Trump administration declared Xiaomi a “Communist Chinese military company” during one of its last days in power and banned U.S. citizens from owning Xiaomi shares. arguing that it denies the company a legal process.
The FCC has new leadership under Biden, but an FCC spokesman told The Wall Street Journal that he would stand behind the previous ruling against Huawei. “Last year, the FCC issued a final designation identifying Huawei as a national security threat, based on a wealth of evidence developed by the FCC and numerous U.S. national security agencies,” the spokesman said, adding: “We will continue to defend the decision. The US ‘significant amount of evidence’ showing that Huawei is a spy for the Chinese government has never been released.
The Biden government is currently in the midst of a review of Trump’s old policies, and it looks like it has not yet reached a conclusion on Huawei. The Department of Commerce is in charge of the Huawei export ban, and although incoming Secretary Gina Raimondo said she would ‘protect Americans and our network from Chinese interference’, she also refused to enforce the Huawei ban until a review can be completed.
Huawei began court with Biden’s government earlier this week when Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei said he would ‘welcome’ a call and open communication from the new president. “If Huawei’s production capacity can be expanded, it also means that American companies can offer more opportunities,” said Ren. “I believe it will be beneficial. I believe it [the] new administration will keep such business interests in mind as they are about to decide their new policy. ”