WASHINGTON – The White House Administration and budget office asked Congress for more time to introduce a gradual ban on Federal contracts with companies that do business with the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei.
The ban was established by the law on defense, adopted last year, and is one part of the multifaceted pressure of the US authorities on Huawei Technologies – the world’s largest manufacturer of equipment for telecommunications networks, which Washington accuses of espionage and theft of intellectual property.
Huawei has repeatedly denied that it is under the control of the Chinese government, armed forces, or intelligence services. It filed a lawsuit against the US government over restrictions included in the defense policy act.
The national defense appropriations act introduced a broad ban on the use of Federal funds to purchase Huawei products for national security reasons.
It includes a ban on direct Federal purchases of Huawei equipment, which comes into force this year.
