Telegraph: Nokia & Ericsson considering emergency break-up over US-China trade war

The Telegraph published an exclusive report about the biggest players in the networks industry drafting emergency plans in case of trade war escalation between the USA and China.

As Telegraph reports, according to their sources, “Nokia is considering setting up an EU-only operation for its 5G supply chain so that there can be no question of interference or security breaches resulting from its Chinese activities.” In China, Nokia Corporation owns half of Nokia Shangai Bell, a joint venture created between Nokia China and Chinese state agency, that includes former Alcatel Shangai Bell business.

Ericsson is focused on splitting their supply chain in Eastern and Western Hemispheres to develop components and software, so that the company becomes more resilient to potential EU security regulations.

The article also adds that both companies have been drawing up plans to move some of the most sensitive operations from China and to somehow split the supply chain. They expect that components and software made in China will be increasingly harder to sell in Europe and the US, while components and software made in US/Europe could face barriers in China.

Nokia declined to give a comment about the story to the Telegraph.

For around two years the USA and China have been negotiating about a new trade agreement, but with no success. The latest incident in the “trade war” was putting Huawei on the “entities list”, which basically means that every American company and every company using tech developed in the US is prohibited in doing business that requires transfer of IP with Huawei. China is allegedly drawing up their own entities list as a mirror response to US.

You can find the full story at The Telegraph. It’s behind a paywall, but just signing up gives you the ability to read it without paying a subscription (if you don’t want or you aren’t subscribed).