US Commerce chief says further action will be taken on Huawei if necessary

FILE PHOTO: A Huawei logo is seen at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Shanghai, China February 23, 2021. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo

WASHINGTON — U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said Thursday the Biden administration will take further action against Chinese telecoms firm Huawei if necessary, even as some Republican lawmakers have pressed the administration to do more.

In a Reuters interview, Raimondo was asked about Huawei and recounted how she told Republican lawmakers in January “that I wouldn’t be soft and now the proof’s in the pudding — we haven’t been. They shouldn’t worry.”

Huawei was added to the U.S. Entity List in May 2019. Raimondo said the list “is a really powerful tool in our toolbox, and we will use it to the fullest extent possible to protect American national security.”