Huawei Lawsuit Against the U.S. Government Challenges Equipment Ban

Huawei is gearing up for the biggest fight in its 32-year existence. The embattled Chinese telecom company today filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government challenging a section of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that bans the U.S. government, its contractors, and suppliers from purchasing Huawei equipment and services. The lawsuit, which was filed in a federal court in Texas, seeks a permanent injunction against the ban and a declaratory judgement that the restrictions imposed on Huawei via Section 889 of the NDAA are unconstitutional. The law “prevents us from serving our U.S. customers, damages our reputation, and deprives us of opportunities to serve customers outside the United States,” said Guo Ping, the company’s rotating chairman, at a press conference that was streamed live from Huawei’s headquarters in Shenzhen, China. “It is an abuse of the U.S. lawmaking process. This section strips Huawei of its due process, violates the separation of powers principle, breaks U.S. legal traditions, and goes against the very nature of the constitution.”