The dispute between the USA/Trump and Huawei continues to escalate. The USA had accused the Chinese manufacturer of espionage in the course of the discussion about 5G upgrades. In the USA, Huawei will therefore not be able to enter the market for now. Only a few days ago, the president declared a state of emergency in the technology. As a result, the US government is now in a position to directly influence which producers may still be used and who may not. Any trade with Huawei and its affiliated companies must first be approved.

The accusations against the alleged friends and partners have not yet been substantiated with evidence. Rather the opposite. Huawei has granted access to its network equipment software. Now the US is intensifying its economic war and dragging the rest of the world and us into it. With a view to Huawei’s competitors in the USA, it is also permissible to speculate that unpleasant rivals should simply be eliminated. But above all, they threaten the security of simple users and businesses.

By order of the American government, Google must now end its Android support for Huawei. With the exception of open source products, Huawei will no longer receive updates or access to Google products such as Gmail, AppStore or Youtube for new devices.

The problem for many customers, whether private or business, is the issue with the updates. Significant security updates. Huawei has conquered a large market share because of their good products. Samsung is just ahead of Huawei in the sales of smartphones in the first quarter of 2019. Huawei is presenting the biggest growth here and has already left Apple far behind. More precise figures can be found on the googlewatchblog.

With this step the USA endangers a large part of users. As a precautionary measure, Huawei has already purchased large quantities of required technology from the USA and expanded its supplier portfolio. There is also a rumour that Huawei has already completed its own operating system in order to avoid the dominance of Google’s Android.

What many people don’t know: The USA have already done something similar with ZTE. The manufacturer ZTE had just escaped bankruptcy.

But the fact that the market power of the Americans has such a big influence is our own fault. European governments have failed to create framework conditions to create competition here as well. If you know which parties in Europe are in charge, it is not surprising.

If Huawei did everything right, they would have to introduce an alternative Google-free Android operating system based on the open source Android. A system where you integrate known alternative appstores. Gmail is only used with Google’s Appstore anyway. (With exceptions!) And Youtube is not necessary for survival. I would welcome this step. Previous attempts like with LineageOS, PureOS, Replicant or Sailfish fail due to too little professional support. More than a shadowy existence has so far not been possible for the mass market.

China itself could, of course, also impose bans on American producers and products. A stand-still would possibly bring peace again.

At the moment, however, the USA is no longer a reliable partner when we talk about security in the digital world. And europe? We will certainly not hear a tough European response. Maybe not even a soft answer.

*In the beginning, I wrote that China could ban Google. But China has already banned Google. Therefore a change.

Update 21.05.2019 – 05:00

Meanwhile also chip manufacturers announce to discontinue their business relations with Huawei. Infineon, Qualcomm, Xilinx, Intel and Broadcomm will no longer supply technology. Although this will hit Huawei, which is dependent on American manufacturers, hard, it will also hit the chip manufacturers themselves. If you don’t sell anything, you can’t earn anything. Probably for reasons of de-escalation, the US government has granted Huawei an additional 90-day purchasing right. The signs are pointing to negotiation. This is not about espionage, but about market dominance, Huawei may agree to supply certain markets less strongly in the future. Market economy with the USA only works if you subordinate yourself. You know.