Huawei files lawsuit against US government
Beijing: Chinese tech giant Huawei on Thursday announced that it has filed a lawsuit against the US government, challenging a law that bans federal agencies from buying the company’s products.
The company said that it has filed the lawsuit in Texas, where its American headquarters are located. It asks a US federal court to overturn part of a provision in the National Defence Authorization Act, which was signed by President Donald Trump last August, CNN reported.
Huawei alleges that a portion of the law violates the US Constitution by singling out an individual or group for punishment without trial.
“This ban not only is unlawful, but also restricts Huawei from engaging in fair competition, ultimately harming US consumers,” Huawei Deputy Chairman Guo Ping told the media on Thursday morning the company’s headquarters in the Chinese city of Shenzhen.
The legislation specifically forbids government agencies from using technology from Huawei and its smaller Chinese rival, ZTE.
“The US Congress has repeatedly failed to produce any evidence to support its restrictions on Huawei products,” Guo said.
“We are compelled to take this legal action as a proper and last resort.”
Thursday’s announcement comes after a Canadian court on Wednesday ruled that Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou’s initial extradition hearing will take place on May 8.
Meng faces fraud charges in the US, where an indictment unveiled in January accused her of deceiving banks into approving transactions that may have violated unilateral US sanctions against Iran.
The lawsuit is Huawei’s most aggressive move yet to fight back against US claims that the Chinese smartphone and telecom equipment maker’s technologies pose a global security threat, CNN said.
Huawei is one of China’s biggest tech firms and a key player in the global rollout of super-fast 5G wireless networks. Its smartphones compete globally with those of Apple and Samsung.
It describes itself as an employee-owned company and denies any of the products pose a security risk.
The Trump administration has been urging allies to ban or restrict Huawei products from their 5G networks, citing spying concerns but without providing clear evidence.
Germany and the UK are deciding what kinds of restrictions to impose on Huawei equipment. Australia banned the company from providing technology for its 5G networks last year.
US prosecutors have also filed criminal charges against Huawei in Washington and New York states.
Last week, the company pleaded not guilty in Seattle to charges that it tried to steal trade secrets from T-Mobile.