The US has banned the sale and import of new telecom equipment from five Chinese companies, including Huawei and ZTE, over national security concerns.
Other companies listed include Hikvision, Dahua and Hytera, which manufacture video surveillance equipment and two-way radio systems.
It is the first time that a US regulator has taken such action for security reasons.
Hikvision said its products pose no security threat to the United States.
It said the decision “will do nothing to protect US national security, but will do a great deal to make it more harmful and more expensive for US small businesses, local authorities, school districts, and individual consumers to protect themselves, their homes, businesses and property.”
Huawei and others have previously denied providing data to the Chinese government.
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said its members voted unanimously on Friday to adopt the new rules.
The commission’s chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement,
“The FCC is committed to protecting our national security by ensuring that untrustworthy communications equipment is not authorised for use within our borders.”
She added, “These new rules are an important part of our ongoing actions to protect the American people from national security threats involving telecommunications.”
The ban on Huawei and ZTE Tech is not retroactive, so listed companies can continue to sell products previously approved for sale in the United States.
However, the FCC said it is seeking comment on future rule changes for devices already approved for import or sale. This means that existing approvals may also be revoked in the future.
The US regulations are the latest to be imposed on Chinese tech companies over espionage concerns, and US officials have grown more suspicious in recent years.
For the first time under President Barack Obama, measures to restrict Chinese telecom companies’ access to the U.S. market have taken hold. It then accelerated during the presidency of Donald Trump and continued under the reign of current U.S. President Joe Biden.
Previous Post
Tesla co-founder Eberhard was wealthy and could have risked his money…’Elon Musk says
Leave a Comment