Cotton introduces bill blocking intel sharing with countries relying on Huawei for 5G

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on Wednesday introduced legislation that would block the U.S. from sharing intelligence with countries that use technology from Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei in their fifth-generation (5G) networks.

“The United States shouldn’t be sharing valuable intelligence information with countries that allow an intelligence-gathering arm of the Chinese Communist Party to operate freely within their borders,” the senator said in a statement after introducing the less-than-two-page bill.

“I urge our allies around the world to carefully consider the consequences of dealing with Huawei to their national interests.”

The bill comes as the Trump administration has stepped up efforts get Huawei out the U.S. and to dissuade allies from relying on hardware and software from the company, which it has called a national security threat because of ties to the Beijing ruling party.

The Department of Commerce placed Huawei on its blacklist in May, preventing U.S. firms from conducting business with the telecommunications giant unless they obtain a specific license.

It subsequently issued a temporary license to extend by 90 days the time before the group is fully added to the entity list, a license that has been extended twice more as the Trump administration grapples with how to address Huawei, which already has important deals with many U.S. companies.

On the international front, the administration has urged allies not to use Huawei technology in their 5G wireless networks.

In September, the U.S. signed an agreement with Polish officials to cooperate on 5G technology in an effort to box Huawei out of Poland’s new network.

The United Kingdom is currently debating whether to use Huawei equipment when upgrading its telecom network, and the U.S. is reportedly urging London not to.