Nov 25 (Reuters) - The Biden administration has banned
approvals of new telecommunications equipment from China's
Huawei Technologies and ZTE because they pose "an
unacceptable risk" to U.S. national security.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission said on Friday it
had adopted the final rules, which also effectively bar the sale
or import of new equipment made by Chinese surveillance
equipment maker Dahua Technology Co, video
surveillance firm Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co Ltd
and telecoms firm Hytera Communications Corp Ltd
.
The move represents Washington's latest crackdown on the
Chinese tech giants amid fears that Beijing could use them to
spy on Americans.
"These new rules are an important part of our ongoing
actions to protect the American people from national security
threats involving telecommunications," FCC Chairwoman Jessica
Rosenworcel said in a statement.
Huawei declined to comment. ZTE Hytera and the Chinese
embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.
Hikvision said in a statement that its products don't
threaten U.S. security.
"This decision by the FCC will do nothing to protect U.S.
national security, but will do a great deal to make it more
harmful and more expensive for U.S. small businesses, local
authorities, school districts, and individual consumers to
protect themselves, their homes, businesses and property,"
Hikvision said, adding that it will continue to serve U.S.
customers "in full compliance" with U.S. regulations.
Dahua said in a statement that the order went "far beyond"
the FCC's statutory authority and would do "little or nothing"
to protect U.S. national security. It also stressed that the FCC
move allows the company to sell previously authorized products
and obtain new authorizations, as long as they are not marketed
for public safety, government facilities, critical
infrastructure, or national security.
"Given that Dahuas products are not currently marketed for
those purposes..., we are reasonably confident that this Order
will allow us to continue to serve most of our U.S. customers
for years to come," Dahua said.
Rosenworcel circulated the proposed measure to the other
three commissioners for final approval last month.
The FCC said in June 2021 it was considering banning all
equipment authorizations for all companies on the covered list.
That came after a March 2021 designation of five Chinese
companies on the so-called "covered list" as posing a threat to
national security under a 2019 law aimed at protecting U.S.
communications networks: Huawei, ZTE, Hytera Communications Corp
Hikvision and Dahua.
All four commissioners at the agency, including two
Republicans and two Democrats, supported Friday's move. The
agency said it has authority to revoke prior authorizations, but
declined to do so, meaning that the sale of currently authorized
products in the United States can continue.
(Reporting by Diane Bartz and Alexandra Alper in Washington and
Ismail Shakil in Ottawa; Editing by Caitlin Webber, Alexandra
Alper, Lisa Shumaker, Kim Coghill and Lincoln Feast.)