House Approves FY20 NDAA Amendments; Includes Anti-Huawei, ZTE Text

The House passed on voice votes July 11 three amendments aimed at addressing concerns about Chinese telecom equipment manufacturers Huawei and ZTE for inclusion in the chamber's version of the fiscal year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 2500). One, led by Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., would impose conditions for the Department of Commerce to be able to lift the Bureau of Industry and Security's addition of Huawei to its Entity List that would impose export restrictions on the company, including a finding that Huawei and its executives haven't violated U.S. or United Nations sanctions and haven't engaged in theft of U.S. intellectual property during the preceding five years. Acting Commerce Undersecretary for Industry and Security Nazak Nikakhtar said on July 9 the department is reviewing export license applications to sell to Huawei in order to “mitigate as much of the negative impacts of the entity listing as possible” and hopes to have decisions “soon” (see 1907090068).

A second Gallagher-led proposal would direct the president to submit a report to Congress on ZTE's compliance with a 2018 agreement that lifted Commerce's ban on U.S. companies selling telecom software and equipment to ZTE. Language from Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., would restrict the use of telecom equipment made by companies originating in countries that are U.S. adversaries at Department of Defense installations in U.S. territories in the Pacific Ocean. The Senate passed its 2020 NDAA version (S. 1790) in June without language from any of the three proposed anti-Huawei amendments to that measure.