Chinese telecom Huawei sued the U.S. government in response to the effort to limit its access to Western markets. The company filed the lawsuit Wednesday in federal court in the Eastern District of Texas, home to Huawei’s U.S. headquarters in Plano.
Huawei wants the court to order the U.S. government to drop its ban on the military, federal government and their contractors, from using Huawei technology.
The ban also prevents government agencies from contracting with companies that use Huawei equipment. Huawei’s chief legal officer Song Liuping told the Associated Press, the ban is “based on numerous false, unproven and untested propositions.”
The U.S. has repeatedly expressed concerns that the telecom has to cooperate with the Chinese government and uses its technology to spy on Americans. “Huawei has an excellent security record and program. No contrary evidence has been offered,” said Liuping.
“We are compelled to take this legal action as a proper and last resort,” the company’s chairman, Guo Ping, said at a news conference, according to the AP.
In response to the lawsuit, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), told CNBC, “Congress has a responsibility to secure our nation. There is a real concern the [products] could compromise our national security.”
Hoyer believes the court will find in Congress’ favor. “From Congress’ standpoint, that was a policy that made sense,” he said.
The suit comes as Huawei sued Canada last week for arresting its CFO at the behest of the United States in December. CFO Meng Wanzhou is accused of misleading international banks about Huawei’s business affairs in Iran that violated U.S. sanctions. She’s under house arrest in Canada while she fights extradition to the U.S.
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March 8, 2019
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