- The UK will not work with
Huawei to build out its 5G network,Prime Minister Boris Johnson 's government announced Tuesday. - The move is a reversal of policy based on US-imposed sanctions, UK Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said.
President Trump took credit for the sudden change in an exchange with reporters this week. "We convinced many countries, many countries — I did this myself for the most part — not to use Huawei, because we think it's an unsafe security risk, it's a big security risk," Trump said.
President Trump is taking credit for a sudden UK policy change regarding Chinese electronics giant Huawei.
"We convinced many countries, many countries — I did this myself for the most part — not to use Huawei, because we think it's an unsafe security risk, it's a big security risk," Trump told reporters this week.
On Tuesday, the UK government reversed plans to work with Huawei on building out its 5G wireless network. UK culture secretary Oliver Dowden specifically cited US sanctions and security warnings as the reason for the change.
US sanctions represent "a significant material change," Dowden said, which prompted the UK to cut ties with Huawei.
Beyond cutting ties, the UK is banning the purchase of new 5G infrastructure from Huawei by the end of 2020 and vows to removed existing equipment by 2027.
President Trump has repeatedly railed against Huawei, and the US outright blacklisted the company from doing business in the US in 2019.
"I talked many countries out of using it," Trump said on Tuesday. "If they want to do business with us, they can't use it."
Prime Minister
Got a tip? Contact Business Insider senior correspondent Ben Gilbert via email (bgilbert@businessinsider.com), or Twitter DM (@realbengilbert). We can keep sources anonymous. Use a non-work device to reach out. PR pitches by email only, please.