The talks are in "early and informal" phases, the tipsters said. However, the executive order that dictated a review of the telecom supply chain is asking for proposed rules by an October deadline -- there isn't much time for things to change, even if any rules wouldn't take effect for a while.

The White House has declined to comment.

Whether or not there's any justification for such a cautious approach, the rationale would be clear. There have been fears that the Chinese government might ask factories and suppliers to insert surveillance code and backdoors into American networking hardware, giving it a chance to spy on American infrastructure, government bodies and individuals. There's no known evidence this is happening so far, but some aren't willing to take chances -- companies like Super Micro have moved production outside of China precisely to reassure wary customers.

If a requirement like this did go ahead, it would add to the pressure for telecom hardware makers. Ericsson and Nokia are already moving production outside of China to avoid US tariffs, but now they wouldn't have much choice -- they'd either have to shift production or completely rule out US sales.