Trump’s Huawei ban a ‘double-edged sword’ and as US and China square off, tech companies on both sides feel the heat
US president Donald Trump’s move to effectively ban Chinese telecommunications firms from doing business with American companies is going to impact both the nations and the global tech industry alike, industry experts said.
Huawei and ZTE have been added to the “Entity List” from Friday and prevents it from buying parts or technology from US suppliers without government approval as its equipment is considered potential tools for Chinese espionage.
“With this executive order, both the US components providers and the Chinese vendors would be impacted, it’s definitely a ‘double-edged sword’,” Mo Jia, research analyst at Canalys, told TechRadar Middle East.
He said that Huawei’s 5G equipment is cheaper, for sure, and the US could use products from other vendors but are usually of higher cost. It’s worth noting that the two other big players in this space– Ericsson and Nokia – aren’t American companies.
“Currently, the relationship between Huawei and countries in Europe is stable; however, there is a possibility that in the future, more countries could join the US suit. Australia also banned Huawei’s 5G equipment. But at this stage, it’s unlikely that any other major European country would ban Huawei, as its 5G solutions are cheaper and competitive compared to other players,” he said.
