Recalling The U.S. Strict Ban On Huawei That Never Ended

Huawei has been banned for nearly two years in the United States. (photo: doc. pixabay)

JAKARTA - It has been almost two years since Huawei has been banned from setting foot in the United States (US), all its businesses have been closed, there is no way out. However, until now many are still wondering, what is the cause?

As a result of sanctions and being blacklisted, aka the US Entity List, Huawei's revenue dropped dramatically by 29 percent in 2021. In fact, this Chinese mobile phone brand was once number one in the world. The company offers a wide range of popular phones, from low-end models to flagship models.

Many of the company's devices feature modern designs, and Huawei is also a leader in 5G technology. On top of that, he has a loyal fan base that many companies would envy. Apart from these factors, the reason the US banned Huawei has to do with China.

All companies based in China are legally required to support and provide any assistance to the government. This includes providing information about individuals, customers and companies, whenever requested.

Despite the situation, Huawei is seen as having closer ties to China's military and intelligence organizations than most other companies. Much of this is due to its founder, Ren Zhengfei, who had served in the People's Liberation Army in China, a background that helped the start-up company secure various contracts.

Launching Slashgear, Tuesday, January 18, Huawei also faces multiple charges of stealing IP from other companies, one example being the case that Cisco filed in 2003.

Huawei's problems worsened when former US President Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to be tougher on China. After being elected, Trump led a crackdown on Huawei as part of a larger trade war between the two countries.

From there, US officials disclosed findings that Huawei had used backdoors in the networking equipment it manufactures, backdoors usually reserved for law enforcement.

Other countries have also raised similar allegations of abuse. Sweden has also banned Huawei from any role in its 5G network, blaming China and accusing it of cyber espionage.

Due to Huawei's entry into the US blacklist, as a result, Huawei is blocked from being able to include Google software and services with its Android phones through Google.

Similarly, TSMC was blocked from being able to supply semiconductors to Huawei, crippling the company's ability to build new phones. Even though TSMC is a Taiwanese company, the Entity List can also prevent any company from providing technology to Huawei that is based on US technology. TSMC falls into that category.

As a result of the US ban, as well as similar actions around the world, Huawei has taken a number of steps to defend itself. The company migrated to HarmonyOS, an innovation of the Android operating system.

Meanwhile, US customers won't be able to buy Huawei equipment for the foreseeable future, and, if the spying allegations are true, probably for the best. Huawei is also turning to other industries, such as cloud computing and electric vehicles. Huawei sees the industry as more isolated and protected from possible sanctions.