US officials are unable to determine if Honor smartphones pose a national security threat

Late last year, Chinese electronics company Huawei sold its subsidiary Honor to “ensure” that it would withstand US penalties. The move enables the company to get chips and other essential components for its phones, laptops, and wearables from companies like Qualcomm and Intel. However, Honor might still be in danger.

The Washington Post reports that officials from four federal agencies voted last week on whether the company should be included in the Commerce Department’s entity list. As a result, Honor would be unable to work with US companies if the company landed there. According to the Washington Post, the vote was split equally. Officials from the Pentagon and the Energy Department are said to be in favor of putting the business on the list, but their colleagues from the Commerce Department and the State Department are against it.

Those arguing for Honor’s placement on the entity list may find it difficult to persuade their colleagues that the company poses a national security danger to the United States. Honor does not offer telecommunications equipment to carriers, unlike its previous parent. That implies it isn’t working on the 5G network rollouts that were apparently at the core of Huawei’s desire to be there. Furthermore, none of its products are available in the United States since Donald Trump imposed a ban on the Chinese tech giant.