The United States officially bans the equipment of Chinese telecom companies

The US Communications Regulatory Authority (FCC) announced Friday that it is banning equipment and communications services provided by five Chinese companies, including Huawei and ZTE.

The decision targets companies considered a threat to the national security of the United States, and it is not allowed to give permission to market any new product on American soil.

The decision includes the companies “Huawei” and “ZTE”, which were subject to similar rules in the past, as well as the companies “Dahua” and “Hikvision”, which provide video surveillance equipment, in addition to the company “Hytera”, which specializes in radio equipment.

Products previously licensed by the US Telecommunications Regulatory Authority will remain so for the time being.

“These new rules are an important part of the measures taken to protect the American people from threats to national security that (in) communications equipment are used,” said Jessica Rosenworcel, president of the US Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, in a statement.

Likewise, the Authority is working to re-examine the licenses it has previously granted.

A Huawei spokesman declined to comment on the decision when contacted by AFP.

Similar to the policy pursued by his predecessor Donald Trump, the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden has taken a firm stance towards Chinese telecommunication equipment manufacturers suspected of spying on behalf of Beijing.

In 2019, Washington banned Huawei equipment and services, and cut off the Chinese smartphone manufacturer from Google’s Android system.