Huawei is “very dangerous” and could be included in trade deal: Trump

Telecommunications equipment and smartphone maker Huawei could potentially be included in a trade pact with the United States (US) due to the security and military risks the firm imposes, American president Donald Trump told reporters in a news conference on Thursday.

‘Huawei is something that’s very dangerous. You look at what they’ve done from a security standpoint, from a military standpoint, it’s very dangerous,’ Mr Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday, according to a Bloomberg report. It is possible that Huawei would even be included in some kind of a trade deal, the US president said, without elaborating.

The US commerce department placed Huawei on a blacklist earlier this month, citing security reasons, and many tech firms such as Google, Panasonic, and Britain’s ARM, have since broken off or are discontinuing their business relations with the firm.

Late on Monday, the US commerce department softened its stance, saying that it would postpone the implementation of its ban for 90 days to prevent a sudden disruption to businesses and to allow for companies to adjust to the changes.

US-China trade talks and Huawei

According to Bloomberg sources, the US had earlier held back on blacklisting Huawei on concerns that the move would affect the trade discussions it was having with China. The US acted only after trade talks between the world’s two largest economies soured in early May.

Since the last round of talks ended in a stalemate on May 10, both the US and China have not scheduled for any further talks on the trade deal. The US then had raised tariffs on US$200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10% to 25% after the trade talks made little headway.

China subsequently retaliated by saying that it will raise tariffs on US$60 billion worth of American goods starting June 1 to as high as 25%. The duties largely target US farmers, taxing products such as peanuts, sugar, wheat, and chicken.

The Trump administration has threatened to put 25% of tariffs on additional US$325 billion of Chinese goods that currently remain untaxed.

But not all Americans are pleased with the move. In an open letter addressed to Mr Trump this week, global footwear firms including Nike, Adidas, Puma, and Dr Martens told the president that his proposed China tariffs could have a “catastrophic” effect on the footwear industry in America.

‘It is time to bring this trade war to an end,’ the 170-over shoe companies and retailers in the letter pleaded.