US Threatens To Limit Intel Sharing If Germany Doesn't Ban Huawei Equipment

Dhir Acharya - Mar 13, 2019

The US won’t completely remove Germany from its intelligence sharing network, but the country won’t remain the same level of transparency.

A report said that if Germany lets Huawei build its 5G infrastructure, the US will restrict sharing intelligence with the country.

On Friday, Richard A. Grenell – US Ambassador to Germany – wrote to Germany’s economics minister, which is also the first direct warning from the Trump administration to an ally against working with Huawei. The news was reported by the Wall Street Journal.

The publication also reported, according to an unnamed official at the State Department, that while the US won’t completely remove Germany from its intelligence sharing network, the country won’t remain the same level of transparency due to the fear of information leaks to China.

As noted by the Journal, European security agencies have developed a high dependence on US intelligence for stopping terrorist attacks.

During the past few weeks, there have been a number of indirect warnings from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo against the Chinese electronics company’s equipment that Washington claims to be used for the Chinese government’s spying purpose (Huawei later denied the accusation). Last week, the company sued the US government for banning it from selling equipment.

The US urges Germany to ban Huawei equipment

Also last week, Germany stated that it did not want to ban the Chinese firm from setting up its 5G network in the country, but it would tighten security for all vendors, according to Reuters’ report.

Economics minister of Germany declined to comment. Both Huawei and the US State Department did not respond immediately to a comment request.

Since Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou’s arrest late last year, the tension between the US and China has been rising even higher. The US has repeatedly warned its allies, especially European countries, against using Huawei equipment as well as other Chinese companies. In the last couple of months, the US has especially urged other governments to ban on Huawei’s sale of equipment, it even threatens to stop working with those countries.