(Bloomberg) -- The head of the Federal Communications Commission and the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee are teaming up to persuade European telecom companies to stop doing business with Chinese equipment-maker Huawei Technologies Co.
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Senator Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr are working with the Trump administration “to castrate Huawei in Europe,” a spokesperson for Cotton said.
An FCC official confirmed that Carr and Cotton are working together. Neither Carr’s offices nor Cotton’s responded to requests for more information on what the partnership will entail or what measures they plan to take.
Carr recently raised concerns about Huawei and ZTE Corp., another Chinese telecommunications firm, at the Mobile World Congress earlier this month. Carr said the two Chinese vendors present “unacceptable risks.”
“As the U.S. looks to collaborate with other countries and technology vendors, it is imperative that our network infrastructure remains secure,” Carr told attendees at the conference in Barcelona.
The push is the latest in a more than decade-long effort by Washington to get US allies to stop installing Huawei equipment, if not rip it out entirely, and cease doing business with the company over security concerns due to its ties to the Chinese government. The issue was on the table during President Donald Trump’s first term and during the administration of President Joe Biden.
Representatives for Huawei declined to comment.
The European Union agreed years ago to restrict suppliers that are considered high risk, including Huawei and ZTE. But so far fewer than half of the 27 EU member countries have taken legal measures to limit or entirely ban Huawei from their wireless networks. Some countries initially made commitments to replace some network equipment but haven’t yet delivered on the promises. Germany, for example, pushed back by a year, to the end of 2026, a deadline to strip critical Huawei and ZTE components from its 5G core mobile networks.
Allies have been less than enthusiastic about cutting ties with the company because Huawei gear is typically inexpensive and well-made, and there are few alternatives. Removing Huawei from core networks would cost billions of euros for European operators, according to researchers.