Following reports yesterday that the German government was actively seeking ways to exclude Huawei technologies from the country"s 5G network development process, the BDI industry group has spoken out saying that no vendors should be excluded if no evidence is produced as to why they should not participate.
According to government sources, the German government was looking to set security standards that Huawei couldn’t achieve, blocking it from getting any contracts. Changes to the German telecoms law are also being considered as a last resort.
The decision to exclude Huawei from participating comes after the United States began pressuring allies to cut ties with the business. Back in October last year, Reuters reported that the German government was open to Huawei participating but it has since changed its mind. The U.S. accused the Chinese firm of being a tool of the Chinese state and has prompted a response from its founder who claimed that the firm is not a tool for the Chinese government.
The BDI"s call echos those raised by Huawei itself as well as aligns with the comment made by the President of the German Federal Office for Information Security, stating that there was currently no "reliable evidence" against Huawei and that for decision such as a ban, evidence needs to be presented.
It will be interesting to see whether the BDI’s call for evidence to be produced is actually listened to or whether Germany will be added to the growing list of countries cutting ties with the Chinese company.
Source: Reuters