The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has asked the U.S. Congress for more time to phase in a ban on federal contracts with companies that do business with Chinese telecom giant Huawei, according to Reuters and the Wall Street Journal.
Russell T. Vought, the acting director of the OMB who submitted the letter to Vice President Mike Pence and nine members of Congress warned that the restrictions on some of the Chinese tech companies in the ban could lead to a “dramatic reduction” in the number of companies that would be able to supply the government.
The ban he mentioned is part of the U.S. defense law named as National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which values at 716 billion U.S. dollars.
One of the items listed in the so-called "most radical" new bill over the recent years is to ban government agencies and its contractors to buy telecommunications equipment produced by Huawei Technologies Company or ZTE Corporation or any subsidiary or affiliate of such entities.
（NDAA screenshot from Guancha.cn）
（NDAA screenshot from Guancha.cn）
NDAA rules would disproportionately affect U.S. companies in rural areas—where Huawei gear is popular—that rely on federal grants, Vought wrote in the letter.
He suggested that restrictions against purchasing Huawei equipment imposed on government contractors begin in four years, rather than two years.
The delay would allow “additional time to think through the associated potential impacts and possible solutions,” Vought explained.
Last month, Washington declared a national emergency over what it claimed is technological threats and announced restrictions on the sale and transfer of American technologies to Huawei.
But the U.S. government has not produced any hard evidence to support its accusation that Huawei is able to use its network equipment to spy on foreign nations for the Chinese government.
