Companies that provide the US government with goods and services must certify that they do not use Huawei equipment or products from other controversial Chinese groups, according to a new Trump administration rule, reported the Financial Times.
The Trump administration on Friday issued a rule requiring companies to prove that they have no commercial ties with several Chinese companies, including Huawei and Hikvision, a maker of surveillance cameras.
Congress passed a law in 2018 introducing the measure, which comes into effect next month. The administration has been working to create the rule to help companies understand the scope and implementation of the law.
“All the largest tech companies in the world do business with the federal government and will have to take stock,” said Eric Crusius, partner at Holland & Knight, adding that it was incredibly expansive. “This is in a different league because it covers every government agency and covers acquisitions of all sizes,” added Crusius, who said it could even apply to companies that supply run-of-the-mill products such as staplers.