Will U.S. Take a "Controlling Stake" in Huawei Competitors?

The U.S. could take an interesting tack in their bid to counter Huawei – Attorney General William Barr suggested the U.S. and allies take a “controlling stake” in Finland’s Nokia and Sweden’s Ericsson.

This comes after Britain rebuffed America’s intense lobbying efforts and agreed to a limited working relationship with Huawei. While Britain restricted “high risk” vendor access to 35% of “non-core” 5G networks (and shut them out of “core” parts, including intelligence, military and nuclear portions), the decision is a blow to the U.S., which has made Huawei the centerpiece of its proxy war with China.

Britain downplayed the security risk, and according to Nicky Morgan, the secretary for digital, culture, media and sport, “This is a U.K.-specific solution for U.K.-specific reasons and the decision deals with the challenges we face right now.”

Still, President Trump was reportedly “apoplectic” over Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision, and the U.S. scrambled to counter the move. A strategic investment in Huawei’s biggest rivals, Nokia and Ericsson, could make serious waves.

According to Attorney General Barr, Nokia and Ericsson   “Huawei’s scale nor the backing of a powerful country with a large embedded market like China,” and “Putting our large market and financial muscle behind one or both of these firms, would make it a far more formidable competitor.”

Nokia and Ericsson haven’t responded, as of yet, and it’s not clear whether they’d approve the investment.

Read more here: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-espionage/to-counter-huawei-us-could-take-controlling-stake-in-ericsson-nokia-attorney-general-idUSKBN2001DL