Marco Rubio Backs Tom Cotton’s Bill Taking Aim at Huawei on 5G

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is continuing his efforts to sound the alarm on the Chinese regime’s connections with Huawei as that company expands 5G across the globe.

Earlier in the week, Rubio and U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., signed a letter from U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., and U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY,  urging the U.K. Parliament to reconsider the Johnson government’s decision to allow Huawei to supply some of the United Kingdom’s 5G telecommunications structure.

Rubio also backed U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton’s, R-Ark., “Protecting America from Foreign Investors Compromised by the CCP Act,” a proposal that “would require the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to review the United Kingdom’s place on the foreign investment ‘whitelist’ if the country allows China’s Huawei to build portions of its 5G infrastructure.” Besides reforming the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act, the bill would also have the administration report on how the federal government is working to offer an alternative to Huawei on 5G.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., are also backing the proposal.

“The U.K.’s recent misguided decision to allow Chinese telecommunications equipment into their 5G infrastructure puts the security and economic interests of the U.S. and our allies at risk. The U.S. must now reevaluate how we engage with our important ally, the U.K.,” Rubio said on Wednesday. “Safe alternatives to Huawei are available from trusted vendors that are not state-directed or controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.”

“The United States values its special relationship with the UK, but allowing Huawei into Britain’s 5G infrastructure will have consequences across several sectors,” Cotton said. “Ultimately, protecting U.S. trade secrets from the Chinese Communist Party is our top priority.”

“We have a duty to protect our most strategically significant technologies, not offer them up on a platter to our adversaries,” Hawley said. “The UK should rethink its decision to work with Huawei, a company that commits IP theft and espionage on behalf of Beijing. Huawei’s presence in the UK’s 5G infrastructure threatens the security of both our countries.”

“Huawei is a global espionage operation masquerading as a telecom company,” Cruz said. “As a critical member of the Five Eyes alliance, Britain is putting the national security of the U.S. and our allies in jeopardy by allowing Huawei to build its 5G infrastructure. There is no way to protect a 5G network from compromise once a company like Huawei is inside. This legislation will help protect the U.S. against the dangers posed by deals such as the one our British allies are pursuing.”

The bill was sent to the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. So far, there is no companion bill over in the U.S. House.

Reach Kevin Derby at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com.