The United States has carried out its threat, as on Wednesday 15 May, US President Donald Trump banned US telecommunications networks from sourcing equipment from foreign companies deemed at risk on the grounds of a “national emergency”.
Chinese equipment manufacturers Huawei and ZTE were particularly targeted, which is criticized by Chinese authorities who denounce “an attack” on trade relations between Washington and Beijing.
For its part, Huawei said on Thursday 16 May, that this new decree infringes on its legitimate rights. “Restricting Huawei's activities in the United States will not make the country safer or stronger”, Huawei said in a statement in response. “On the contrary, it will only force the United States to adopt inferior and more expensive alternatives”, the Chinese group maintained.
For its part, the European Commission reiterated that the EU is conducting “a regular dialogue with the US on cybersecurity, in which the growing need for global coordination is discussed”. It also reiterated that it was up to each Member State to assess the risks and choose to exclude companies from their market on national security grounds. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)