With the drama surrounding the Trump administration executive order cutting off Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. from U.S. companies remaining ongoing, the damage caused by the order could sound the death knell for the company outside its native China.

The ban, ostensibly made on the grounds of U.S. national security, has seen Google LLC cut Huawei off from licensed Android updates, including support for Google apps, causing widespread confusion for both consumers and retailers alike.

Even as of today, it’s not clear whether that means that existing Huawei users will no longer receive updates and access to Google apps or if it will affect only future Huawei models. Whatever the outcome, the net effect is that retailers and consumers in both Asia and Europe are abandoning the company.

Although it has never been popular in North America, Huawei was, at least until recently, the second-largest smartphone maker in the world and was wildly popular in Europe and Asia in particular.

In Asia, carriers in Japan and Taiwan have stopped selling Huawei devices, with South Korea likely to follow, according to Reuters. Telkomsel, the largest mobile operator in Indonesia is also said to be reviewing the situation.

The situation in Asia, outside of China, has become so dire for Huawei that there are reports that mobile phone retailers in some Asian countries are refusing to accept Huawei smartphones as trade-ins. IT News reported that in Singapore and the Philippines, users have rushed to sell their Huawei phones but have found few takers.

The situation is just as dire in Europe with Vodafone, the world’s second-largest mobile operator suspending pre-orders of the Huawei Mate 20X 5G smartphone, while the U.K.’s biggest carrier, EE, is said to have also delayed sales of the same device.

The order may not affect Huawei’s consumer business alone either. A Trump administration official suggested that European nations are “coming around” to the security threat posed by the company’s 5G mobile network technology.

The U.S. and Australia had previously banned Huawei from participating in 5G network rollouts prior to the executive order on national security grounds. The suggestion now is that with the order in place, U.S. allies in Europe may also follow suit and ban Huawei from supplying technology for network rollouts as well.

Photo: Duncan Riley