According to initial reporting by Reuters, the White House is allegedly considering an executive order that would ban the use of Huawei and ZTE telecommunications equipment by US companies as US President Donald Trump continues to chase a trade war with China into ground zero.
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Rural operators in the United States are among the biggest customers of Huawei and ZTE, and worry that they may also have to rip out existing Chinese-made equipment without compensation. Industry officials are divided on whether the administration could legally compel operators to do that.
The executive order, which has been under consideration for more than eight months, could be issued as early as January and would direct the Commerce Department to block U.S. companies from buying equipment from foreign telecommunications makers that pose significant national security risks, sources from the telecoms industry and the administration said.
The executive order would invoke the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a law that gives the president the authority to regulate commerce in response to a national emergency that threatens the United States.
In August, Trump signed a bill that barred the U.S. government itself from using Huawei and ZTE equipment.
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