The US has banned the sale of equipment made by Huawei and ZTE, citing security concerns.

As they pose “an unacceptable risk” to US national security, the Biden administration has barred approvals of new telecommunications equipment from Huawei Technologies and ZTE in China.

On Friday, the US Federal Communications Commission announced that it had adopted the final rules, which prohibit the sale or import of equipment manufactured by Chinese surveillance equipment manufacturer Dahua Technology Co, video surveillance company Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co Ltd, and telecoms company Hytera Communications Corp Ltd.

Washington’s latest crackdown on Chinese tech giants is motivated by concerns that Beijing is using them to spy on Americans.

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement that the new regulations were “an important part of our ongoing actions to protect the American people from national security threats involving telecommunications.”

When asked for comment, Huawei officials said they had none. Requests for comment sent to ZTE, Dahua, Hytera, and the Chinese Embassy in Washington were met with silence.

Hikvision issued a statement claiming its products pose no security risk to the United States.

Hikvision said it will continue to serve US customers “in full compliance” with US regulations, despite the FCC’s decision, which it called “harmful and expensive” for US small businesses, local authorities, school districts, and individual consumers seeking to protect themselves, their homes, their businesses, and their property.

Last month, Rosenworcel sent the proposed measure to the other three commissioners for approval. If passed, it would effectively prohibit the companies from selling new equipment in the United States.

In June of that year (2021), the FCC announced that it was considering a ban on equipment authorizations for all of the named companies.

In March of 2021, five Chinese companies—Huawei, ZTE, Hytera Communications Corp, Hikvision, and Dahua—were designated as national security threats under a 2019 law enacted to protect US communications networks.

Two Republicans and two Democrats on the agency’s four-person commission all agreed with Friday’s decision. Although the agency claimed it had the power to do so, it chose not to revoke any existing permissions.