The United States officially prohibited federal agencies from purchasing telecommunications and surveillance equipment manufactured by Huawei and four other Chinese companies on Tuesday. The ban, which realizes various provisions of the 2019 National Defense Administration Act, was introduced out of security concerns over the potential of cyber espionage by Chinese firms and, by extension, the Chinese government.
The interim rule[pdf] forces federal contracting officers to specify whether their solicitations include “covered telecommunications equipment or services” and to provide “substantial details” about these solutions. The regulation defines ”covered telecommunications equipment or services” as follows:
- Telecommunications equipment produced by Huawei Technologies Company or ZTE Corporation (or any subsidiary or affiliate of such entities)
- For the purpose of public safety, security of Government facilities, physical security surveillance of critical infrastructure, and other national security purposes, video surveillance and telecommunications equipment produced by Hytera Communications Corporation, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company, or Dahua Technology Company (or any subsidiary or affiliate of such entities)
- Telecommunications or video surveillance services provided by such entities or using such equipment; or
- Telecommunications or video surveillance equipment or services produced or provided by an entity that the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence or the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, reasonably believes to be an entity owned or controlled by, or otherwise connected to, the government of a covered foreign country
Read more: Federal Ban on Chinese Telecom Equipment Takes Effect
