Following the ban on Huawei, Japan’s Panasonic said it’s checking to ensure all its products are in tune with the US’s restrictions on trading with the tech firm.
The US government, blacklisted Huawei from trading with American firms unless the product is licensed, on grounds of national security. Since then, many companies have taken a step or two backwards from the Chinese firm, making their products less attractive to the international consumers.
Google was the first to announce its disengagement with the Chinese owned tech firm. Like many other smartphones around the world, Huawei devices run on the Android OS and have access to other popular services like Gmail, Google Maps and YouTube. This implies that new Huawei smartphones will lose the access to those Google apps. Taking this ecosystem off the devices make them unattractive to consumers. Imagine using a device not supported by Gmail and its other services!
Panasonic in a statement to the BBC said that “it should suspend transactions with Huawei and its 68 affiliates that were banned by the US government.”
That statement caused an uproar, because it appeared to announce that it was terminating every business relationship with Huawei. It however cleared the air by stating that it would continue to trade normally with Huawei as long as the business does not breach the US regulations. It said:
“Panasonic will continue to strictly abide by the laws and regulations in which we conduct business.”
The trade tensions between China and the US have escalated in recent weeks, both countries tussling for power over the months. The US had reinforced its war against China by increasing tariffs, just when Huawei was at the brink of closing a deal with the US to upgrade the country to the 5th generation network.
Supported by the US, the tech firm has faced a growing backlash over possible risks of using its products. The US speculates that Huawei may leverage on their products for surveillance. The firm has continuously denied claims of having ties with the Chinese government. Huawei claims to work as an independent private firm.
Softbank and KDDI, both owned by Japan said they will not roll out new Huawei handset until the ban is lifted. The tussle for power between both parties persists.