EU Digital Chief to Reject US Demand to Ban Huawei

US has warned Chinese telecom is a threat to national security

Across the world, the United States is engaged in a lot of wars. One of the least discussed of those wars is the war against Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei, whose CFO the US had captured by Canada.

As the world upgrades cellular networks to 5G, Huawei is a chief competitor for major US companies. The Trump Administration has been making the rounds making it clear that countries must avoid using Huawei, often under the guise of national security.

The European Union is apparently unconvinced, however, and despite all the US lobbying, EU Digital Chief Andrus Ansip will present recommendations this week that will not in any way ban member nations from using Huawei for infrastructure projects, nor accept US claims that they are an “intelligence threat.”

Huawei has denied that they have in any way used their technology to provide the Chinese government access to communications. Many EU countries are arguing that without Huawei, the 5G upgrades across Europe would be greatly behind.

Interestingly, the US 5G infrastructure companies include some that are known to have been compelled to collude with the NSA in broad surveillance of the American people, and on telecommunications worldwide. Far from a unique security threat, Huawei’s danger is simply based on the Trump Administration’s assumption that China will do to Huawei what America does to its major telecoms.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.