Huawei Accuses U.S. of Bullying as It Seeks Support From Europe
Chinese telecom company says its addition to U.S. blacklist marks unprecedented assault
Huawei Technologies Co. denounced U.S. actions against the company as “bullying” and implored European governments to resist American pressure to follow suit in a bid to safeguard one of its most lucrative markets.
The Trump administration’s move to blacklist Huawei last week marks an “unprecedented” assault on not only the Chinese telecom company but also rules-based global trade, Abraham Liu, Huawei’s representative to the European Union, said Tuesday.
“Now it is happening to Huawei, tomorrow it can happen to any other international company,” Mr. Liu said at a press briefing. “This is dangerous.”
Huawei’s push to enlist European allies follows White House pressure on EU governments to block Huawei from 5G tenders citing cybersecurity risks. Washington’s move to block Huawei from sourcing components from U.S. companies or running certain features on Google’s Android operating system in new smartphones also threatens its consumer business. U.S. officials said Monday they would waive that measure for 90 days for some suppliers.
Mr. Liu said Huawei was willing to sign no-spy agreements with all governments and customers in the EU to assuage any security concerns. The company’s 5G rollout won’t be delayed by recent developments, he added.
Huawei also invoked a core EU principle in its plea for support: protection of free markets and the rule of law. Europeans have been grappling to uphold the multilateral system amid challenges from Mr. Trump’s “America First” policies.
Highlighting its global supply chains and operations, the Shenzhen-based company cited more than $6 billion in annual purchases from Europe, vast research collaboration and a local workforce. About 70% of Huawei staff in the region are European.
The EU is treading carefully, however, mindful of trans-Atlantic tensions and trying to avoid getting caught up in the U.S.-China trade fight. Brussels and Washington are also locked in contentious trade negotiations, even as they jointly try to address what they see as challenges posed by Beijing’s state-capitalism.
European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, have been reluctant to join the U.S. effort to isolate Huawei from Western markets.
Some EU governments have signaled their intention to allow the Chinese company’s participation in their 5G networks, despite persistent White House pressure to bar Huawei from tenders and some European intelligence warnings about security breaches.
While some European officials see Huawei as a national champion for China, they also acknowledge that it is leading in 5G technology.
The company beat the U.S. in developing the next generation of network devices, but now grapples with geopolitical battles that are beyond its control, a European official said.
Huawei’s comments follow a tumultuous few days, as the Chinese giant scrambles to assess the impact of last week’s addition by the U.S. Commerce Department to a trade blacklist that threatens to cut if off from American technology.
Last year Huawei bought $11 billion of American components such as semiconductors, and the company relies on Google’s Android operating system to power its smartphones around the world.
The decision was followed Monday by a U.S. order giving some suppliers a 90-day reprieve to the trade rules. The reprieve allows Alphabet Inc.’s Google to continue providing certain key services to Huawei smartphone users. It also allows other U.S. businesses to continue selling some components to the company.
“Keeping phones up-to-date and secure is in everyone’s best interests and this temporary license allows us to continue to provide software updates and security patches to existing models for the next 90 days,” a Google spokesman said Tuesday.
Beyond the 90-day reprieve, the U.S. has indicated it doesn’t plan to give many licenses to companies wishing to continue selling to Huawei.
Europe is one of Huawei’s most important international markets. Although the company has long faced resistance in the U.S., many European countries—including U.S. allies—have embraced Huawei telecom gear, while consumers have snapped up its smartphones.
Europe, along with the Middle East and Africa, generated 28% of Huawei ‘s $107 billion in revenue last year and was the company’s fastest-growing region.
Mr. Liu said it isn’t yet clear when Huawei’s own operating system will be ready for an international rollout. That poses a potential risk to the company’s next line of smartphones, which may have more limited access to Google’s Android.
“Obviously there is a challenge here,” Mr. Liu said.
The breadth of the Commerce Department order means that certain European suppliers have been swept up in the trade restrictions. On Monday, chip maker Infineon Technologies AG said it was terminating the delivery to Huawei of some components originating in the U.S., though it said the “great majority” of products it sells to Huawei aren’t subject to restrictions.