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back to article American telcos get 90 days to wrap up deals with, er, dangerous Chinese supplier – that's Huawei the news goes

US telcos will be able to continue doing business with Huawei for the time being. This after the US Department of Commerce issued a 90-day extension on the Temporary General License (TGL) order that lets companies continue to work with Huawei under certain circumstances. The TGL order, first posted in May of this year, had …

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  1. Aqua Marina

    Unless the US suddenly provides investment for these probably-not-profitable remote areas then I can see this 90 day reprieve will be extended again, and again until funds are provided to replace kit. Telco’s don’t like spending money on quiet little towns.

    16 0 Reply
    1. martinusher Silver badge
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      > don’t like spending money on quiet little towns.

      I suspect that everyone involved is just keeping their head down and hoping to run the clock out --- this Administration will go away sooner rather than later and then some semblance of sanity should return.

      9 2 Reply
  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    It still looks more like economic protectionism rather than national security.

    Then again the US could provide a little credible evidence rather than political rhetoric and I might change my mind.

    31 0 Reply
    1. Claverhouse Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      It's rather just sabre-rattling to induce China to give way on other things.

      I'm more fond of China, but America isn't that wrong in their take on Chinese trade-imperialism.

      4 1 Reply
      1. batfink
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        Trade-imperialism? And that doesn't apply to the US? I don't think you've been paying attention lately...

        13 0 Reply
        1. Claverhouse Silver badge
          Reply Icon

          The fact both parties are rat-fink rogues in no way exonerates China. And neither of the 2 current leaders are particularly to blame: each nation's demented trajectory has been determined for decades.

          4 1 Reply
    2. Dave314159ggggdffsdds Silver badge
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      I haven't seen any evidence Huawei have actually been doing anything naughty, but the potential problem is real. China is a totalitarian regime, and the government can secretly force otherwise independent businesses to do things they don't want to. That is a serious security issue when those businesses are selling things like telecoms backbones.

      On the whole it doesn't present insoluble difficulties to design acceptance criteria to deal with the risk, and having those might well help keep tabs on other suppliers too.

      5 10 Reply
      1. BigSLitleP
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        That would be a serious case of glass houses. *cough*Cisco*cough*

        16 1 Reply
        1. Dave314159ggggdffsdds Silver badge
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          Cisco isn't based in a totalitarian state. There's no comparison. If the US tries to get Cisco to do something, Cisco can refuse if they want.

          3 25 Reply
          1. Julz
            Reply Icon
            Black Helicopters

            Spooks

            You really think that? Having worked for both British and US tech companies who have been asked to be compliant with various authorities, they all did as they were asked/told.

            10 1 Reply
            1. Dave314159ggggdffsdds Silver badge
              Reply Icon

              Re: Spooks

              I didn't say they won't ever do it, just that they have a choice. They were, as you say, asked - not ordered.

              1 3 Reply
              1. K
                Reply Icon

                Re: Spooks

                I'll play this game with you - lets looks at the options, their choices are:

                A) Take moral stance, and refuse to co-operate

                B) Drop panties when Uncle Sam flashes a few billions dollars at them

                Now, Go and search for "Jedi Contract"... If you choose anything other than "B", you're incorrect.

                4 0 Reply
              2. Roland6 Silver badge
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                Re: Spooks

                >They were, as you say, asked - not ordered.

                I'm sure the Chinese spooks ask, quietly and politely, as well - no need for anyone to lose face, just that everyone has a better appreciation of the very real consequences of not complying.

                1 0 Reply
            2. Anonymous Coward
              Reply Icon
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Spooks

              US companies challenged the US government in court several times.

              How many Chinese companies could just think about it, and how long it takes for their executives to be executed?

              I really wish you all to find yourself under a real dictatorship, one day. Unless you become the persecutors and executors - which is probably what you dream to become - you'll find that it's not so nice...

              Why do you believe people in Hong Kong are risking so much? Probably they value their freedom more than you because they can see they are losing it quickly - and they know how much they can trust Chinese government promises.

              1 1 Reply
          2. Sgt_Oddball
            Reply Icon
            Holmes

            But do they?

            I mean it's not as if they have a track record....

            6 0 Reply
      2. 6491wm
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        who would you rather being behind your internet service, Huawei or the Labour Party ;o)

        3 6 Reply
        1. macjules
          Reply Icon

          That’s like saying you have a choice of Trump or Clinton.

          2 0 Reply
      3. batfink
        Reply Icon

        I think you'll also find that the western nations have been forcing companies to bend to their security forces' wills for some time. And at the same time preventing them from talking about it.

        MS etc have been (indirectly) moaning about this coercion for a while now.

        So no, this isn't just a problem in totalitarian states.

        10 1 Reply
      4. martinusher Silver badge
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        China is a totalitarian regime?

        I suppose its quite easy to get 1.3 billion people to all march in lock step.....

        Seriously, though, its not the equipment that poses a problem but how its configured and used. I know that we are used to running our personal kit with software that's doing Heaven only knows what with the hardware (in the furtherance of 'enhanced consumer experience' and 'monetizing websites') but in the professional world people like to have rather more control over what their kit is doing.

        2 1 Reply

        1. This post has been deleted by its author

      5. DrBed
        Reply Icon
        Trollface

        China is a totalitarian regime, and the government can secretly force otherwise independent businesses to do things they don't want to.

        Yeah, like force Huawei to NOT give some fake dirt about Biden.

        Yovanovitch would say: "It's Very Intimidating".

        0 0 Reply
  3. Barry Rueger

    Meng Wanzhou

    Don't forget that Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou is still under house arrest in Vancouver while fighting a rather sketchy US arrest warrant.

    I recommend our local CBC outlet's excellent podcast Sanctioned: The Arrest of a Telecom Giant. Nine episodes to date, and more to come as the case progresses

    15 0 Reply
  4. Pascal Monett Silver badge

    "The US government has long warned"

    Yes, ever since that Bloomberg article that was never substantiated. And there has been no proof coming since.

    Until there is proof, the US will continue to be ignored on this point by actually democratic countries.

    18 1 Reply
    1. Anonymous Coward
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      Anonymous Coward

      "to be ignored on this point by actually democratic countries"

      Some of them, i.e. Germany, are actually more worried about their lucrative exports to China if they say anything China doesn't like... democracy has very little to do with this all.

      The same reason why they are very soft with Poland and Hungary - they need European low-wages areas.

      3 10 Reply
      1. IGotOut Silver badge
        Reply Icon

        Re: "to be ignored on this point by actually democratic countries"

        Not sure where you heard that l, but it's Germany that's been pressing for sanctions against Hungary and Poland.

        "BERLIN (Reuters) - German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Thursday the European Union should cut funding and impose sanctions on members which pass laws that contravene core EU principles.....countries like Romania, Hungary and Poland received more EU funding than they provided, so curtailing that could provide important leverage. "

        Source

        https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-europe-sanctions/german-minister-urges-sanctions-on-eu-members-flouting-principles-idUSKCN1R22PV

        5 0 Reply
        1. Anonymous Coward
          Reply Icon
          Anonymous Coward

          "Germany that's been pressing for sanctions against Hungary and Poland."

          Still Merkel is very cozy with Orban, didn't push Fidesz out of the European People Party, just suspended it - it's just theater, they had to show something, but actually Orban knows it can keep on unchallenged. And Fidesz voted for Ursula von der Leyen....

          Germany gave six billions from EU to Turkey to stop immigrants through the Balkan route towards Hungary, and utterly ignored those coming through the Mediterranean to Greece and Italy.

          BMW is opening a new plant in Hungary, despite the unemployment rate in East Germany and the raise of AfD.

          https://hipa.hu/construction-works-of-the-bmw-plant-are-about-to-start-in-debrecen

          Germany economy is sustained by exports, they won't do anything that could lead the Chinese government t to hit those exports - especially now their automotive sector is not going well - and being China a non-democratic country, companies will bend to the government will immediately.

          "Not sure where you heard that"

          European press, i.e. "Corriere della Sera" in Italy - which is not an anti-European Germanophobe populist paper.

          0 0 Reply
  5. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

    Awkward stuff, reality, when you have to deal with it.

    5 0 Reply
  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "that's Huawei the news goes" - Brilliant

    Always nice to see a bit of Rick and Morty reference...

    0 0 Reply

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