Trump Signs Executive Order on ‘Securing the Information and Communications Technology’

May 16, 2019 (EIRNS)—President Donald Trump signed an executive order on May 15 declaring a national emergency, barring the use of telecommunications equipment made by companies that are deemed a threat to national security and delegating the Secretary of Commerce to oversee its implementation. This is widely assumed to clear the way for an outright ban on products made by China’s Huawei, as demanded last year by the British Empire’s “Five Eyes” intelligence agencies of Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the U.S. But the executive order did not name China or Chinese companies specifically.

Soon after the order was signed, the U.S. Commerce Department added Huawei and 70 affiliates to its “Entity List” after it concluded that the Chinese company was engaged in activities contrary to U.S. national security or foreign policy interests. Inclusion in the list means that U.S. companies cannot sell to the “Entity” without a special license. Chinese communications company ZTE was placed on this list in April 2018, and removed by President Trump last July after it made management and other changes.