It's hard to anticipate the results of a criminal investigation
According to reports, the investigation of Huawei’s expansion began after ZTE admitted in March that it violated the US sanctions order. ZTE has thus been fined 1.19 billion U.S. dollars. It was recently banned by the U.S. government and will be banned for U.S. companies for the next 7 years. Selling components, merchandise, software and technology to ZTE is considered a devastating blow to ZTE.
Huawei’s allegations have been investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice. This is a criminal investigation. It is different from ZTE’s administrative penalties imposed by the U.S. Department of Commerce. At present, it is difficult to judge the investigation because of the progress of the investigation and which specific allegations are not yet known. The result will affect Huawei.
Prior to the “Wall Street Journal” report, there was no news that Huawei had been punished by the U.S. government for sanctions-related criminal investigations. Huawei has not admitted to the U.S. that it had violated U.S. sanctions against Iran and other countries.
Huawei may face the first criminal investigation by the United States. The investigation may take several months. Unless the United States has direct and direct evidence, it will not be immediately sanctioned by ZTE.
If the final allegation is established, industry insiders stated that Huawei may be fined billions of dollars in compensation and restricted by the U.S. government to obtain key American components and other technical products. The survey may also affect Huawei’s Businesses in other international markets At present, some US allies such as Australia, Canada, etc. have begun to take a cautious approach toward Huawei. If the impact is further extended to the EU, it will have a fatal impact on Huawei's business.
After landing in the United States in 2001, Huawei has been struggling in the United States. The U.S. government refrained from restricting and suppressing the development of communications equipment and other services on the grounds of national security. Since 2013, Huawei has sought to enter the United States again because of the rise of mobile phone services. Market, but progress is slow. Starting this year, with the implementation of the Trump administration’s overall trade policy toward China, US mainstream telecom operators AT&T and Verizon have refused to cooperate with Huawei, and retail giant Best Buy has banned Huawei mobile phones.
Or become a bargaining chip in the Sino-U.S. negotiations
In 2012, U.S. government regulators began to issue a series of restrictions that focused on Huawei, ZTE and other Chinese companies. They included accusations of espionage, launched a large-scale '337 investigation' on patent infringement issues, and Congress issued a report to threaten national security. For reasons, it is proposed to stop Huawei and ZTE from conducting trade activities in the United States, but in the end, the United States did not have any material evidence concerning Huawei.
An expert in the communications industry stated that the US Department of Justice’s involvement in the investigation may be the possession of substantial evidence, or it may be a strategic act.
According to the reporter's understanding, because of the exclusion of the US market from Huawei over the years, Huawei’s operations involving the US market or US policy are quite cautious. On the other hand, Huawei has also been operating in compliance.
Therefore, the news that the United States released investigations at this time was more interpreted as coming from the strategic level.
U.S. President Trump stated on the 24th that U.S. Treasury Secretary Mukuchin and Trade Representative Lite Shizzle will lead delegations to China to negotiate on trade issues in the next few days. At this time, they will release ZTE and Huawei’s sanctions and investigations. The intention was to exert pressure on the Chinese side and take the initiative in future negotiations.
The sanctions against ZTE have caused domestic resentment. Although China held the right to approve approval of Qualcomm NXP, it did not make a counterattack. The microblog report article pointed out that whether the resurgence of the ZTE event will be when China and the United States return to China. At the negotiating table, this time has already emerged, and the investigation of Huawei may be that the United States wants to accumulate chips for itself in the negotiations.