UK is confident of a trade deal with the U.S despite concerns regarding Huawei’s ban

According to the Britain’s foreign secretary, while the United Kingdom is seriously considering the U.S concerns regarding a global ban on Huawei in the name of the tech company serving as a spying tool for the Chinese government, Britain is expected to sign a broader trade deal with the U.S in the upcoming months even without a final stance on Huawei related complications.

The United Kingdom has announced last month that it will allow Huawei to have a limited role in rolling out a nationwide 5G telecom network. Following the announcement, the U.S had declared that future trade talks with the UK may be affected due to the decision.  

United Kingdom Limits Huawei’s Involvement In Its 5G Network To 35%

Secretary Dominic Raab also commented that the United Kingdom has decided to keep Huawei’s involvement in rolling out its 5G network at 35% and that too in the non-sensitive components of the network. A similar strategy, he added, will be applicable to other high-risk suppliers. As per Raab, excluding Huawei completely was not pragmatic for the country since that would have sharply increased the cost for the consumers and caused massive unnecessary delays in the launch of the 5G network.

According to the sources, a few senior Conservative members have also urged the Prime Minister to consider ruling out the role of Huawei in the UK’s 5G network. The country is currently holding discussions with multiple partners like Canada, Australia, and the U.S which can contribute to technological innovations that will threaten Huawei’s dominance in the 5G market.

Secretary Raab also commented that in order to remove the reliance from Huawei and other high-risk vendors, it is imperative that partners work committedly to establishing a pool of suppliers that can take Huawei’s role without ringing an alarm on the national security.

UK Is Currently Seeking Post-Brexit Trade Deals With Other Countries

Raab is currently on a visit to Asia aimed at proposing broader trade deals to the Asian economies after the UK’s departure from the European Union. The foreign secretary says that Singapore can also be expected to join the first list of countries to sign a trade deal with the UK. On Tuesday, Raab will be negotiating with Malaysia that will conclude his tour that started with Australia and Japan.

In separate news, French media outlets have recently highlighted that Huawei is expected to face added restrictions in France, to which the Chinese embassy has urged the authorities to ensure fair competition in rolling out its nationwide 5G network.