Under Trump Administration, No US 5G Gear Will Be Made In China

As a Wall Street Journal’s report stated, the administration of Donald Trump is weighing the option of ordering every 5G telecommunications equipment which is installed within the US not be manufactured in China.

This is definitely an important step, and it would reach beyond moves that have already been made by the ultimate White House during the trade war with China. The White House has decided to impose sanctions on technology companies from China, accusing them of posing a risk of security (notably Huawei – the largest telecom equipment manufacturer in the world).

The Journal indicates that US officials are looking at the option of requesting suppliers which are not based in China to move out of the country. This process will take years to be carried out properly.

Companies like Ericsson and Nokia Corporation, which are US wireless carriers' main suppliers will either have to move outside of China or to lose their accessibilities to the US market.

This requirement might have a more significant impact on the market in comparison with any deals aiming at ending the continuous trade standoff. Much as both Ericsson and Nokia have already worked on plans to leave China as a result of the trade war tariffs, the decision mentioned above of Trump’s administration might as well permanently change the global technology markets.

Members of “Five Eyes” – an anglophone intelligence alliance – have agreed upon working together in order to contain Huawei. The company is seen as the leader in the technology of 5G and asserted to have relationships with state intelligence agencies as well as the Chinese military.

The company has previously been under multi accusations such as violations of sanctions, fraud and trade theft. The US penalties prevent the company from buying any of American technologies. This actually hit hard on Huawei, given that its CEO Ren Zhengfei has recently claimed that the company expects to lose billions in revenue in years to come.

In addition, the Journal report also states that administration sources want to put China on the list of “foreign adversaries.” The White House is said to have been informally discussed with tech firms as well as other Asian countries about the location of US companies' relocation.

Moreover, in the Journal’s report, it is also indicated that there is an ongoing debate about whether to allow 5G telecom gear to be made within China or to approve open source code from Chinese programmers.