US moves to ban Huawei gear from government contracts

Washington: The United States unveiled rules on Wednesday formally banning technology giant Huawei and other Chinese firms from government contracts in the latest move in the countries’ escalating trade war. The interim rule will preclude any US federal agency from purchasing telecom or technology equipment from the firms “as a substantial or essential component of any system, or as a critical technology as part of any system,” starting August 13.
The rules implement a ban included in the defense authorization act Congress approved earlier this year.
Waivers to the rules may be granted “under certain circumstances” by an agency head for up to two years, or by the Director of National Intelligence in other cases, which were not specified.