Pompeo warns Germany against using Huawei technology

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reportedly warned German authorities on Friday that the U.S. could withhold some information related to national security if the country adopts 5G wireless networks run by Chinese firm Huawei.

Pompeo told reporters after a meeting with Germany’s foreign minister that it was “not possible” to mitigate the risk that the Chinese government would be able to obtain data in Huawei’s networks, Reuters reported.

{mosads}“They [Germany] will take their own sovereign decisions, [but we] will speak to them openly about the risks … and in the case of Huawei the concern is it is not possible to mitigate those anywhere inside of a 5G network,” Pompeo said.

The Trump administration has actively urged European nations against adopting Huawei technology in recent months, amid worries about security. The U.S. intelligence community says the company’s technology and data could be accessed by the Chinese government, claims Huawei denies.

The Trump administration moved this month to ban U.S. companies from doing business with the Chinese tech firm. But that decision was later delayed by 90 days, even as some companies, including Google, began breaking off business ties with Huawei.

“We are complying with the order and reviewing the implications,” a Google spokesperson told The Hill.

White House national security adviser John Bolton said this week that it was unclear if the United Kingdom would allow Huawei access to the nation’s 5G network. The U.S. is also pressuring the U.K. not to use Huawei technology.

“I’m not sure that this decision has reached the prime ministerial level in final form. I mean we are still talking,” Bolton said Thursday. “People are talking back and forth.”

“Everybody is catching up to the dangers posed, especially in fifth-generation telecommunications systems, by equipment from Huawei and potentially others that can allow foreign governments a back door into telecommunications systems,” he added.