The Huawei security risk

Jaysen

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  • Feb 17, 2018
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    I'd add the Huawei security risk to the list of commercial topics you need to know for your interviews. It's an ongoing story and links to many broader commercial issues, like the rise of China, the growing importance of cybersecurity and the clash between the US and China for the future of tech.

    You can use this thread to post any stories relevant to this topic.

    Here's a great series of charts from the BBC (more here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46480208):

    upload_2019-2-18_9-13-3.png


    upload_2019-2-18_9-13-17.png
     

    Jaysen

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  • Feb 17, 2018
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    You may have already seen this news story today: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-48330310.

    "Google has barred the world's second biggest smartphone maker, Huawei, from some updates to the Android operating system, dealing a blow to the Chinese company.

    The move comes after the Trump administration added Huawei to a list of companies that American firms cannot trade with unless they have a licence."
     
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    Jaysen

    Founder, TCLA
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    Premium Member
    M&A Bootcamp
  • Feb 17, 2018
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    Thanks @Jaysen for the articles!

    Does anyone by any chance have access to this article? It'd be interesting what this says: https://www.law.com/legal-week/2019...ke-over-huawei-trade-restrictions-378-108561/

    Strictly speaking, I can't share many of these for copyright reasons, but here you go:

    "Companies in the U.S. are scrambling to understand their compliance responsibilities in the wake of the Commerce Department’s announcement last week that it was adding Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd and nearly 70 of its affiliates in 26 countries to a trade blacklist.

    “We’re fielding literally dozens of calls on the topic of compliance,” Rich Matheny, a partner in Goodwin Procter’s Washington, D.C. office who heads the firm’s global trade practice, said on Tuesday.

    The clamour for compliance answers isn’t surprising considering Huawei’s reach and the strict penalties that U.S. companies face for violating the export ban: $300,000 for each civil violation and a $1 million fine or up to 20 years in prison for each criminal violation.

    There’s also concern that the action against Huawei could spur other Chinese companies to sever their ties with stateside businesses, said Kevin Wolf, a partner in the international trade practice at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in Washington, D.C., and former assistant secretary of commerce.

    “There are foreign competitors that exist now or could exist soon,” Wolf said. “I’m not denying the national security issues here, but from an economic perspective this could motivate a move away from U.S. suppliers.”

    While grappling with the implications of the restrictions on Huawei, which were announced on May 16, stakeholders learned on Monday that the U.S. had granted the Chinese telecoms giant a temporary general licence that carves out some exceptions in the export ban.

    The license, which was slated to be published on Wednesday and expire on August 19, lifts the ban on certain exports that Huawei needs to “maintain and support existing and currently fully operational networks and equipment”. The 90-day licence also applies only to legally binding contracts that Huawei and third parties finalised on or before May 16.

    At this point, companies need to stop exporting products to Huawei until they can determine whether what they’re sending fits within the terms of the temporary licence, according to Matheny.

    Companies that decide to resume business with Huawei need to abide by the terms of the licence, which requires, among other things, that exporters draft a certification explaining how their products qualify for the exception.

    Matheny also advised companies to prepare for the eventuality of a full trade ban on Huawei rather than banking on the temporary licence being renewed or a deal being reached.

    As for Huawei, the company appears to be digging its heels in. Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei told Chinese state media that the firm was “fully prepared” for a conflict with the U.S. as it pursued its goal to “stand at the top of the world”."
     

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