Senators Rubio, Warner Warn Trump Administration Against Using Huawei as Bargaining Chip in Trade Negotiations

Sens Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Mark Warner (D-VA) warned the Trump Administration not to concede on important national security matters related to countering Huawei, a Chinese state-directed telecommunications company recently added to the US Commerce Department’s banned Entity List, and the development of fifth-generation wireless telecommunications technology (5G) in order to achieve a favorable outcome on trade negotiations with China. In a letter to the US Department of State and the Office of the US Trade Representative, the Senators underscored the threats posed by Chinese telecommunications equipment to network security, data privacy, and economic security across the globe, and emphasized the need to keep trade negotiations separate from any changes in policy concerning national security threats posed by Huawei. “Allowing the use of Huawei equipment in US telecommunications infrastructure is harmful to our national security,” the Senators wrote.