Raimondo (pictured), who is governor of the state of Rhode Island, told a Senate committee hearing this week that she had “no reason to believe” the ban should be lifted.
However she refused to commit herself to keep the companies on the entity list of banned companies maintained by the Department of Commerce (DoC), which she will head.
The Senate Commerce Committee voted 21–3 yesterday to accept her as Commerce Secretary. The next step is full Senate approval.
She seemed hesitant about the future DoC position on Huawei and other Chinese companies, saying she needed more information.
“With respect to the entity list, I understand that parties are placed on the entity list and the military end user list generally because they pose a risk to US national security or foreign policy interests,” she said in a written answer to questions.
“I currently have no reason to believe that entities on those lists should not be there. If confirmed, I look forward to a briefing on these entities and others of concern.”
Huawei is not at the top of the Biden administration’s concerns: the pandemic is a much more urgent task. But at some point Biden and Raimondo — assuming she is confirmed — will have to review any evidence that the Chinese equipment vendor is a threat, something Huawei strenuously denies.
