The legislation comes in response to the arrest of Huawei’s CFO Meng Wanzhou, who was seized in December in Canada on charges of violating US sanctions against Iran.
A group of bipartisan senators on Wednesday introduced a bill prohibiting the export of US-produced parts and components to telecommunication companies in China that have violated US sanctions, Congressman Mike Gallaher’s press office said in a release.
The move came after retail stores at US military bases were prohibited from selling Huawei and ZTE mobile phones over concerns that they pose an unacceptable risk to the military’s personnel, information, and mission. Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou was arrested in the Canadian city of Vancouver on 1 December 2018, reportedly, for failing to comply with the US sanctions against Iran, and now faces extradition to the United States. The arrest was decried by Beijing, which demanded that Canadian authorities immediately release the Chinese national.