Abstract

The case “Huawei – Caught in the Crosshairs of the US-China Trade War” is about the dilemma faced by the Chinese telecom equipment manufacturing company Huawei Technologies Co. (Huawei) due to the sanctions imposed on it by the US, the UK, and other countries. The ban on Huawei’s telecom equipment was due to security issues that arose as the company had its headquarters in China and it was supposedly under the control of the Chinese government and therefore bound by the Chinese government’s rules and regulations. While security was one of the issues, trade disputes, protectionism, and unfair trade practices also had a role to play in the sanction. The case deals with the reasons for the ban on Huawei and its impact on the development and implementation of 5G technologies across the world. The trade war between the US and China is discussed along with analysts’ comments on the ban on Huawei. In the future Huawei was expected to be severely affected by the ban and the rollout of 5G networks in the UK was set to be delayed. It remains to be seen whether Huawei will be able to wriggle its way out of the current imbroglio and again become the topmost telecom equipment company in the world.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Understand the dimensions of protectionism and its impact on international trade.
• Understand the importance of trade barriers for overall economic development in a country.
• Evaluate the impact of unfair trade practices on international trade.

Keywords

Huawei; Trade barriers; Trade disputes; Trade wars; Protectionism; Unfair trade practices; Sanctions; International trade; National security; 5G; Trade policy; WTO