14 DAY TRIAL // The United States is drawing a line against the entry of Huawei Technologies as a partner for AT&T Inc, and the reason seems to be national security.
It might seem odd that one of the biggest capitalist markets in the world that encourages a cutthroat environment and freedom from government interventions is trying its best to prevent a company from entering it.
According to a Reuters report, it looks like the US lawmakers are trying to prevent Huawei Technologies from entering the US market, via AT&T Inc. The same goes for China Mobile Ltd, a telecom operator. Citing national security, these measures seem a little bit off, especially since they have a political background and pretty much nothing else.
It’s just a matter of time
Companies such as Huawei and Xiaomi and have been growing exponentially in the past few years, without the help of the US market, but they are now trying to expand to the West, and they are encountering the same resistance as China put up in their own country.
Let’s not forget that China has been very good at keeping companies out of their country, including the likes of Apple. On the other hand, China is not a democracy, and they are not hiding behind national security.
Getting yet another carrier in the US market might not be such bad idea, but the US is trying to gain some political leverage with China. The Trump administration has been pestering China about the North Korean problem for a while, and they are insisting for the most prominent country in Asia to get its hand dirty.
One of the ways to force China to talks with North Korea is to shut the door on the companies from the Chinese market trying to enter the US. Since the United States can’t be seen to act directly as China, being a democracy and all, they are invoking national security reasons.