The Trump administration’s decision to put Huawei Technologies on a trade blacklist was a result of a tussle between two camps in the White House, with the hardliners prevailing as the US intensifies its battle with China over technology as well as trade.
For months, advisers led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer had been working toward an agreement to end the trade war. Dangling a victory that US President Donald Trump could claim, they had successfully held the president back from signing an executive order that he said would block Huawei from doing business in the US, former State Department officials and other observers said.
For months, advisers led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer had been working toward an agreement to end the trade war. Dangling a victory that US President Donald Trump could claim, they had successfully held the president back from signing an executive order that he said would block Huawei from doing business in the US, former State Department officials and other observers said.
