US ambassador warns Brazil may face ‘consequences’ if it gives Huawei access to 5G network

US Ambassador Todd Chapman has said that Brazil may face “consequences” if it allows China’s Huawei Technologies into its 5G network, referring to US warnings that Beijing fails to protect intellectual property.

The US government has stepped up efforts to limit Huawei’s role in rolling out high-speed, fifth-generation technology in Latin America’s largest economy, Reuters said. Huawei denies it spies for China.

Chapman told O Globo newspaper that Brazil would not face reprisals for picking Huawei, but could face consequences. “The consequences we are seeing in the world are that firms involved in intellectual property are scared to make investments in countries where that intellectual property is not protected,” Chapman was quoted as saying.

Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro said last month that 5G deployment would have to meet national sovereignty, information and data security requirements.