The White House announced that President Donald Trump has signed an executive order declaring a national emergency over perceived security threats from foreign telecom companies, particularly from China.
No Chinese company was singled out in the executive order but it is no secret that smartphone maker Huawei has been the target of federal investigations seeking to find out if the company’s products can be used to spy on Americans. The US government said that it has stopped using Huawei products and has asked US firms to stop doing business with the Chinese firm.
Here is an excerpt from a report published by the BBC:
According to a White House statement, Mr Trump’s order aims to “protect America from foreign adversaries who are actively and increasingly creating and exploiting vulnerabilities in information and communications technology infrastructure and services”.
It gives the secretary of commerce the power to “prohibit transactions posing an unacceptable risk to the national security”, the statement adds.
[…]
By declaring a national emergency President Trump can effectively bypass other branches of government and gains access to a raft of special powers.
The Brennan Center for Justice, a non-partisan public policy institute, has compiled a list of more than 120 legal powers the president can use in such an event – they range from taking over farmland to calling up military reservists or seizing property with few or no restrictions.
President Trump has now declared five national emergencies, including most recently over the southern US border.
