INTERVIEW: Andy Purdy, chief security officer at Huawei (pictured), warned the US government’s tough stance on the company will hurt the country and result in a number of job losses, as the vendor is forced to look elsewhere for its components.

Purdy said there was currently a situation where a significant number of US companies “want to sell to Huawei and the government at this point won’t let them”, referring to an export ban.

The vendor is frustrated by the government’s refusal to discuss the risks it believes Huawei poses, he said, adding his biggest concern was that “American jobs are on the line”.

“We can’t get meetings with the government right now. Our suppliers and customers are dealing with them. We are trying to send a message around our suppliers, that’s 130 American companies, $11 billion a year and over 40,000 jobs.”

As a result of the ban, Huawei is “now making our 5G technology with zero American components.”

Purdy opened the door to rectify the situation, stating it would like to come back and buy from America, but it was now procuring elsewhere to ensure it could support its customers around the world.

“If we are forced to, we are going to buy from other people. That’s going to hurt and cost a major number of American jobs. That’s a shame and it’s going to be for nothing.”

During the interview, Purdy also discussed the impact its troubles were having on rural parts of the US and how the country could learn from its European Union counterparts in developing a wider security framework.

View the interview here.