The last week has seen a rash of news and rumours about the future viability of Huawei.

US President Donald Trump issued an executive order invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which gives the president the authority to regulate commerce in response to a national emergency that threatens the United States. The order directs the Commerce Department, working with other government agencies, to draw up a plan for enforcement within 150 days.

Declaring a national emergency with respect to the threats against information and communications technology (ICT) and services in the US and delegates authority to the Secretary of Commerce, the order prohibits transactions “posing an unacceptable risk to the national security of the US or the security and safety of US persons”.

The action means US tech companies can no longer supply Huawei or any of its 70 affiliated entities worldwide once they are officially added to the Entity List. In addition, foreign companies would no longer be able to supply US-origin parts and components to those entities and certain foreign-made parts and components that incorporate US-origin parts and components may not be able to be supplied either.

Huawei has moved quickly to allay customer fears and has issued the following statement clarifying its position:

Huawei has been working for some time now to mitigate the impact of the US ban, this includes our South African operations.

We have diversified our global supply chain as part of our business continuity management processes.

In South Africa, we will continue to serve all our customers and partners with the same focus and dedication as before, and contribute to the ICT sector with vigour, as the fourth industrial revolution is a key economic focus for growth and social development.

Consumer support

Huawei will continue to provide security updates and after-sales services to all existing Huawei and Honor smartphone and tablet products, covering those that have been sold and that are still in stock globally.

We will continue to build a safe and sustainable software ecosystem, in order to provide the best experience for all users globally.

In an interview with Chinese media this week, Huawei founder and CEO, Ren Zhengfei said: “We will certainly be able to continue serving our customers. Our production capacity is huge, and adding Huawei to the Entity List won’t have a huge impact on us. We are making progress in bidding worldwide.

“In the first quarter of this year, our revenue grew 39% over the same period last year. This rate decreased to 25% in April, and may continue decreasing towards the end of this year. But the US ban will not lead to negative growth or harm the development of our industry.”

In an interview with CNBC Africa on Wednesday, Huawei vice-president of corporate communications, Glenn Schloss said: “The device in people’s hands are completely unaffected by what’s happening in the US. For owners of Huawei handsets in South Africa it will be business as usual.

“We remain positive, but we are preparing for various eventualities. We are stockpiling components and have been working with our supply-chain partners for some time.”