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Signs point to HUAWEI giving up on America
August 11, 2025
Huawei, the world’s third-largest smartphone manufacturer behind onlySamsung and Apple, knows that to become number one it must have an American presence. But with allegations that the company issecretly run by the Chinese government, and worries that Chinese companies might soon havetoo much sway over the world’s technology, breaking America has been an uphill climb.
Now, with thefailure of the AT&T exclusive dealand the increasing likelihood that HUAWEI telecom products will end upbeing unaffordable to American companies, it seems that HUAWEI is giving up on its American dreams altogether.
Today,viaThe New York Times, a source close to the matter reported that HUAWEI has laid off five American employees, including lobbyist William B. Plummer. Mr. Plummer was the vice president of external affairs at HUAWEI and with the company for eight years. He was the most senior member of HUAWEI’s American policy team who is not a Chinese citizen.
According to the anonymous source, it is not clear if HUAWEI plans to replace Mr. Plummer. But, for now anyway, Plummer’s dismissal means HUAWEI won’t have any current lobbying efforts in the U.S. With so much stacked against the company when it comes to getting a foothold in the country, the fact that it will not have a Washington representative points to the company merely walking away from the U.S.
HUAWEI is currently in the middle ofits global analyst summitwhere it lays out plans for the following year. At the summit, executives emphasized growth opportunities in Europe and Asia, and described diversification plans that will put HUAWEI products into organizations of all kinds, like factories, governments, and police.
So far, there hasn’t been any significant discussion of what the company plans to do in America in 2019.
However hard the United States pushes back against HUAWEI, it won’t likely stop the company’s rapid growth in the rest of the world. The recently releasedP20 line of smartphonesis already earning rave reviews, and theHUAWEI Mate 10 ProwasAndroid Authority’ssmartphone of the year for 2017.
NEXT:We asked, you told us: HUAWEI P20 Pro vs. Samsung Galaxy S9
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