The FCC announced on Tuesday that they are designating Huawei and ZTE, two major Chinese telecommunication equipment suppliers, “national security threats.” This forbids the FCC Universal Service Fund from buying any equipment from either of them.
US hostility toward China in general and Huawei in particular means it is unlikely the US was ever going to buy large amounts from these companies. The declaration also likely is aimed at scaring private companies and other nations from buying Chinese.
The Universal Service Fund is meant to ensure rural Americans access to broadband and other services. Huawei is a top low-cost provider for services, meaning the US will have to buy from pricier competitors because of this. ZTE mostly makes handsets, and similarly is prized for high-quality, low-cost products.
Since US surveillance depends on telecom equipment providers’ support, Huawei has often been vilified by the US in recent years. The US has also gone after ZTE at times, mostly accusing them of intellectual property violations.
“Since US surveillance depends on telecom equipment providers’ support, Huawei has often been vilified by the US in recent years….”
Understatement of the year…ZTE was the hostage the RINO Senate all but shot just after Trump was about to let them go after extracting major concessions.
https://www.theverge.com/2018/7/13/17565450/zte-trade-ban-lifted-us-commerce-department-trump
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/392898-senate-votes-to-block-trumps-zte-deal
The threat of a Chinagate turned a trade skirmish Trump was winning, into a major trade war the U.S. and China are both losing.
China… perhaps not as much though. U.S. trade warriors forgot how much value-added went into Chinese products, and how much U.S. trade went into value-added global supply chains in which China was the major lynchpin, but America, the driver and main benefactor.
Their numbers were based on the obsolete GDP trade model where countries design and build products entirely within their own borders, not assemble products sourced from all over the world.
Its like blowing out the centre of their own trade web, somehow expecting the network not to implode on them even though, they were in fact, the centre.