Companies that are in business with the Chinese Telecom Giant will be barred to do so as part of a defense law passed last year. However, the White House Office of Management and Budget has asked the US Congress for more time to phase in the ban. Earlier, Washington had accused Huawei of espionage and stealing intellectual property.
Under the Defense Law, National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), federal money cannot be used to purchase products from Huawei. As per earlier reports, the ban had to be executed this year. White House, however, has requested additional time to work through the ban.
White House OMB Director Russ Vought, in a letter reported by the Wall Street Journal, has asked Vice President Mike Pence and congressional leaders for a delay.
“This is about ensuring that companies who do business with the U.S. government or receive federal grants and loans have time to extricate themselves from doing business with Huawei and other Chinese tech companies listed in the NDAA,” Jacob Wood, a spokesman for the White House OMB, said in a statement published by Reuters.
It is imminent from Vought's letter that American policymakers require more time to assess the impact of such a ban.
Donald Trump has already signed an executive order to bar US Companies from using telecommunications equipment that might pose a national security threat.