Latest news with #ElaineKurtenbach
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
US judge says China's Huawei must face criminal case for racketeering, other charges
By Elaine Kurtenbach BANGKOK: A U.S. judge has ruled that China's Huawei Technologies , a leading telecoms equipment company, must face criminal charges in a wide reaching case alleging it stole technology and engaged in racketeering , wire and bank fraud and other crimes. U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly on Tuesday rejected Huawei 's request to dismiss the allegations in a 16-count federal indictment against the company, saying in a 52-page ruling that its arguments were premature. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The U.S. accuses Huawei and some of its subsidiaries of plotting to steal U.S. trade secrets , installing surveillance equipment that enabled Iran to spy on protesters during 2009 anti-government demonstrations in Iran, and of doing business in North Korea despite U.S. sanctions there. During President Donald Trump's first term in office, his administration raised national security concerns and began lobbying Western allies against including Huawei in their wireless, high-speed networks. In its January 2019 indictment, the Justice Department accused Huawei of using a Hong Kong shell company called Skycom to sell equipment to Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions and charged its chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, with fraud by misleading the HSBC bank about the company's business dealings in Iran. Meng, the daughter of Huawei's founder, was arrested in Canada in late 2018 on a U.S. extradition request but released in September 2021 in a high-stakes prisoner swap that freed two Canadians held by China and allowed her to return home. Chinese officials have accused the U.S. government of "economic bullying" and of improperly using national security as a pretext for "oppressing Chinese companies." In their motion to dismiss the broad criminal case, among other arguments Huawei's lawyers contended that the U.S. allegations were too vague and some were "impermissibly extraterritorial," and do not involve domestic wire and bank fraud. The biggest maker of network gear, Huawei struggled to hold onto its market share under sanctions that have blocked its access to most U.S. processor chips and other technology. The limits led it to ramp up its own development of computer chips and other advanced technologies. The company also shifted its focus to the Chinese market and to network technology for hospitals, factories and other industrial customers and other products that would not be affected by U.S. sanctions.
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
China criticises new US rule banning use of Huawei's Ascend advanced computer chips
By Elaine Kurtenbach China has blasted a new US rule against use of Ascend computer chips made by Huawei Technologies anywhere in the world, chafing Thursday against the limitations of a temporary truce in the trade war between the two biggest economies. Beijing moved ahead, however, with fulfilling its promise to lift retaliatory measures it imposed after US President Donald Trump escalated his trade war, raising tariffs on Chinese products to as high as 145%. One key action was to remove a ban on exports to the United States of minerals known as rare earths that are used in many high-tech products. Despite the deal struck last weekend in Geneva, frictions remain. Earlier this week, the US Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security issued guidance saying that Huawei's Ascend semiconductors are subject to US export controls , on the basis that they are thought to employ US technology. "These chips were likely developed or produced in violation of U.S. export controls," it said in a statement on its website, adding that "the use of such PRC advanced computing ICs risks violating U.S. export controls and may subject companies to BIS enforcement action." China's Commerce Ministry responded that the move was "not conducive to long-term, mutually beneficial, and sustainable cooperation and development between the two countries. The Chinese side urges the US side to immediately correct its erroneous practices," said ministry spokesperson He Yongqian. Huawei's Ascend chip is central to China's effort to build its own capacity to build leading edge computer chips and other technologies. Analysts say use of the chip in China's DeepSeek artificial intelligence effort reflects a potential challenge for Nvidia in the global AI market. He also lashed out against US tariffs on imports of Chinese steel and aluminum, which have not gotten a reprieve after Beijing and Washington agreed to their pause in many tariff increases. She said the US should give up its use of Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which gives the president power to impose tariffs on other countries on national security grounds. In February, Trump drew on that authority to restore 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum that he had imposed during his first term in office. Speaking at a weekly ministry briefing, He urged the US to end the higher tariffs "as soon as possible." The 30% levy that America is now imposing on Chinese goods includes an existing 20% tariff intended to pressure China into doing more to prevent the the synthetic opioid fentanyl from entering the United States. It also includes the same 10% "baseline'' tariff Trump has slapped on imports from most of the world's countries. The 30% tax comes on top of other levies on China, including some left over from Trump's first term and kept by former President Joe Biden. China is imposing a 10% tariff on U.S. products during the 90-day negotiating period.
