Huawei’s possible dealings with Sprint Nextel raise national security concerns,...
Huawei’s possible dealings with Sprint Nextel raise national security concerns, said Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., and seven other Republican senators in a letter Wednesday to key members of the Obama administration. The senators cited press reports that Chinese…
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company Huawei is bidding to supply equipment to Sprint, and is working with the Treasury Department to allow it to operate in the U.S. The Kyl letter went to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, National Intelligence Director James Clapper and General Services Administrator Martha Johnson. And it was copied to the secretaries of State, Defense and Homeland Security. Kyl and the other senators accused Huawei of having ties to Saddam Hussein, the Taliban, China’s People’s Liberation Army and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. “A Chinese company with such a leading role in Iran’s economy, and close relationship with the IRGC, should not be able to do business in the U.S.,” they said. Huawei also allegedly has violated intellectual property rights of Cisco, and has received “substantial financial assistance from the Chinese government,” they said. “At worst, Huawei’s becoming a major supplier of Sprint Nextel could present a case of a company, acting at the direction of and funded by the Chinese military, taking a critical place in the supply chain of the U.S. military, law enforcement, and private sector.” Sprint declined to comment. Huawei didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.