The U.S. General Services Administration issued an interim rule prohibiting government agencies from procuring telecommunications and video surveillance equipment or services from Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., ZTE Corp. and three other Chinese companies due to national security concerns.
The new rule, which is set to take effect Aug. 13, implements the same ban from the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, that was signed into law by President Donald Trump in August 2018.
Other Chinese firms being targeted by the interim rule are Hytera Communications Corp. Ltd., Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co. Ltd. and Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co. Ltd.
Executive agencies can grant one-time waivers through Aug. 13, 2021, to government contractors on a case-by-case basis, according to the interim rule. The director of national intelligence can also issue waivers in specific circumstances.
A wider ban on doing business with contractors or companies using equipment or services from the targeted Chinese firms will take effect Aug. 13, 2020.
Huawei filed a lawsuit in March challenging the constitutionality of the NDAA ban. The U.S. government launched a motion last month seeking to dismiss that lawsuit.
In May, Trump declared a national emergency over purchases of telecommunications equipment from countries that pose a national security threat. The U.S. Commerce Department then blacklisted Huawei, but later scaled back restrictions.
After meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G-20 summit in June, Trump said he would once again allow U.S. companies to sell components and parts to Huawei.