Strand Consult estimates the cost of swapping all the Huawei and ZTE equipment purchased since 2016 and installed in European markets at $3.5 billion. That's much less than the $60 billion estimate reported by some, said its report, set for release Sunday. “The claim that Huawei is needed to create competition cannot be supported by the fact that the company increasingly has a monopoly position and it uses anti-competitive practices.” Removing the equipment would make the networks more secure, Strand concludes: "If there were no security risk to doing business with China, then NATO would buy Chinese fighter planes. There are categories of products and services whose supply is restricted for justifiable security reasons, and national security has long been a part of telecom policy and regulation. National security has long been a part of telecom policy and regulation.” The companies didn't comment Friday.

A reversal of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision in a fight over insurance coverage of a TV production would mean ignoring the undisputed meaning of the "warlike action" exclusion in insurance, giving Hamas legitimacy of a sovereign or blaming Israel for provoking Hamas, plaintiff-appellant Comcast's Universal Cable Production, said Wednesday. In its opposition (in Pacer, docket 17-56672) to defendant-respondent Atlantic Specialty Insurance's petition for panel rehearing and rehearing en banc (see 1908260060), Comcast said Atlantic never rebutted the argument that the "warlike action" exclusion doesn't encompass terrorist actions by terrorist organizations. Atlantic seeks rehearing of a 9th Circuit ruling that reversed and remanded a U.S. District Court's summary judgment decision in the insurer's favor.

BCE expanded reciprocal roaming with AT&T to give Canadian business customers access to AT&T's U.S. LTE-M network. “LTE-M supports low-power IoT applications with enhanced coverage, longer battery life and lower costs for IoT devices connecting to Bell's national network,” BCE said Thursday: “Bell LTE-M supports a broad range of large-scale IoT innovations, including asset tracking, fleet management, smart sensors, smart city applications.”

The International Chamber of Commerce urged the World Trade Organization to permanently ban tariffs on “cross-border data flows,” as a temporary ban soon expires. A 1998 moratorium should be made permanent to continue digital trade growth and prevent “trade barriers and burdensome customs duties,” ICC said Tuesday. Since the moratorium, “consumers have gained unprecedented access to new products and services” and international businesses accessed new markets. Three countries suggested ending the moratorium, including Indonesia, “going so far as to create tariff codes for ‘software and other digital goods transmitted electronically,” the business lobby said.

S&P Global Ratings is “fairly confident” that tech manufacturers Flex and Jabil “could manage their metrics to preserve” their current BBB-minus credit ratings if the fourth tranche of U.S. tariffs stays at 15 percent. At 30 percent, as the first three tariff rounds are scheduled to rise to on Oct. 15, potential EBITDA declines “could prove to be too severe” for either company to avoid a downgrade, said S&P Friday. It estimates goods generating 6-9 percent of Flex's revenue and 12-17 percent of Jabil's sales will have exposure to the four rounds. Jabil’s largest customer, Apple, draws 37 percent of its revenue from U.S. sales, it said. For Flex, the largest customer is Ford, which gets 61 percent of revenue from the U.S., it said. In fiscal 2019 ending March 31, 25 percent of Flex revenue came from manufacturing operations in China, the ratings firm said. It estimates Jabil derives 40-50 percent of revenue from Chinese production. The companies didn’t comment Monday.

Cybersecurity company Cloudflare submitted “incorrect information” on hardware exports to the Commerce Department and received payments from people and entities on a sanctions list of foreigners, it told the SEC this month. It voluntarily disclosed possible violations to the Bureau of Industry and Security and Office of Foreign Assets Control this year. It took “remedial measures” to prevent future violations, and agencies are reviewing the potential violations, the company said. The firm said it sells products to “certain OFAC-sanctioned regions” through the use of general licenses. The company didn't comment further Friday. The SEC filing involved an initial public offering, which the agency acted on Thursday, the firm said then. In the first day of trading in U.S. markets under the NET ticker Friday, shares closed up 20 percent at $18.

The U.S. shouldn’t make Huawei part of trade negotiations with China, former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge told Yahoo Finance: “National security and Huawei being embedded in your network, that is a non-negotiable item.” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying, meanwhile, slammed Australia for keeping Chinese companies out of the 5G supply chain. “Under the pretext of national security, Australia was the first country to ban Chinese companies from its 5G network roll-out without any evidence of risks. It is blatant discrimination against Chinese companies,” Hua said, according to a transcript: “Australia has also been lecturing other countries about the 5G network and encouraging them to follow suit. Such disgraceful and immoral conduct is against basic market principles and international rules.”

EU’s general data protection regulation may have unintended competition consequences, DOJ Antitrust Division Chief Makan Delrahim said Thursday, citing chilling U.S. industry response. Because of GDPR, countries are requiring websites disclose use of cookies and “require global licensing of U.S. patents as a remedy,” he said. The latter could disincentivize investment and innovation, he said: “When a foreign enforcer imposes such a remedy globally, it takes away the Antitrust Division’s ability to reach a different conclusion and risks harming American consumers.” The division is reviewing its international competition guidelines, he told a Fordham conference, per prepared remarks. He said the division will ensure the guidelines “accurately reflect the latest guidance from our Supreme Court and lower courts … adequately reflect the importance of comity to our relationships with international competition enforcers” and “adequately convey the symmetry that we expect from our international counterparts.”

More than 5,000 companies are “actively certified” under the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced Wednesday. The White House also announced that the program's annual review will start this week with EU officials visiting Washington.

The Chinese government “firmly” opposes the U.S. using “its national power to oppress” Chinese telecom equipment manufacturer Huawei “based on no evidence at all,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said during a Wednesday news conference. Huawei has been countering arguments it poses a threat to the security of the U.S.'s telecom infrastructure, in recent days claiming U.S. officials attempted to recruit its employees to provide internal information about the company. U.S. lawmakers are also eyeing legislation to prevent President Donald Trump's administration from lifting Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security restrictions on Huawei (see 1907220053). “Such an act is disgraceful and immoral, and it runs counter to the principle of market economy, for which the [U.S.] has been a self-claimed champion,” Geng said, according to a transcript from China's U.S. embassy. “We urge the [U.S.] to stop abusing the concept of national security, to cease its smear campaign against China and oppression against Chinese companies, and to provide a level playing field and a non-discriminatory environment for Chinese companies to operate normally” in the U.S.