Federal agencies banned from buying Huawei equipment

The Department of Defense, the General Services Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration issued an interim rule Wednesday banning federal purchases of telecommunications equipment from Huawei and four other Chinese companies.

The interim rule will go into effect on Aug. 13, and was issued in response to passage of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, which banned federal agencies from using equipment or services from the five companies after that date.

Besides Huawei, the companies named in the interim rule were ZTE Corporation, Hytera Communications Corporation, Hangzou Hikvision Digital Technology Company, and Dahua Technology Company. None of the companies immediately responded to request for comment on the rule.

Specifically, the rule bans federal agencies from “procuring or obtaining, or extending or renewing a contract to procure or obtain, any equipment, system, or service that uses covered telecommunications equipment or services as a substantial or essential component of any system, or as a critical technology as part of any system.”

The heads of government agencies are allowed to issue one-time waivers to government entities to allow business with one of the companies until Aug. 13, 2021, if the entity in question can justify why they need more time to implement the ban.