‘Clear line in the sand’ on Huawei

   A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers introduced a bill on Tuesday that effectively would prevent President Donald Trump from using a recent executive order to remove Chinese telecom Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. from the Commerce Department’s Entity List.
    Shortly after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 meeting in Osaka, Japan, on June 29, Trump announced that he would temporarily lift the trade restrictions against Huawei.
   The so-called Defending America’s 5G Future Act would “codify” Trump’s executive order and prohibit Huawei’s removal from the Entity List without approval from Congress. It also would allow Congress to deny waivers that any administration might grant to U.S. companies that trade with Huawei.
   The bill was introduced in the Senate by Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; Tom Cotton, R-Ark.; Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.; Mark Warner, D-Va.; Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.; and Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and in the House by Reps. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis.; Liz Cheney, R-Wyo.; Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif.; and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.
   “The best way to address the national security threat we face from China’s telecommunications companies is to draw a clear line in the sand and stop retreating every time Beijing pushes back,” Van Hollen said in a statement. 
   “This legislation will make sure [President Trump] doesn’t by codifying the president’s original executive order on Huawei and prohibiting the administration from relieving penalties on Huawei without the approval of Congress,” he added.
   On May 16, citing national security concerns, BIS added 68 Huawei affiliates in 26 countries to its Entity List.
   The Entity List identifies entities believed to be involved in activities that pose a threat to U.S. national security and foreign policy. The action immediately cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. semiconductor sales to Huawei. 
  A couple of weeks later BIS established a 90-day temporary general license, effective May 20 to Aug. 19, to allow U.S. exporters meeting certain regulatory conditions the ability to continue conducting business with Huawei.