EU should not allow Washington to force it to persecute Huawei

German Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier was criticized by the United States this week after he described the US administration as "unreliable and untrustworthy". In a Sunday talk show, Altmaier defended Chancellor Angela Merkel's stance not to ban Huawei Technologies from Germany's 5G network. Citing the US National Security Agency's surveillance on Germany, he said the agency even eavesdropped on Merkel's cell phone calls.

While some Western politicians excel in spreading fear about Huawei, Altmaier reminded them that regulations forcing companies to hand over data to state authorities under certain conditions "exist in many countries when it comes to law enforcement", a clear reference to the US CLOUD Act (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act), which was signed into law last year by President Donald Trump. The law allows US government to compel US-based technology companies to provide data, regardless of whether they are stored in the US or abroad.

No wonder US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell called Altmaier's remarks "an insult" to the US. What Grenell was really upset about was that Altmaier was telling the truth, something that Grenell and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo do not want to face.