It’s a delicate time for relations between the U.S. and China, and Donald Trump is showing no signs of easing up. In his latest attempt to increase economic pressure on China, the president is reportedly expected to sign an executive order as early as this week that would ban U.S. companies from using equipment made by Huawei. Reuters reports the expected move is essentially the first step toward a ban on doing business with the Chinese telecom giant. The order would invoke the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which gives the president the power to regulate commerce in a national emergency, and allow the U.S. commerce secretary to review business involving companies seen to pose a national-security threat. There has been increasing alarm within U.S. security and intelligence agencies that Huawei devices and infrastructure could be used by the Chinese state for spying. The company denies that is the case.
