Huawei loses US government ban challenge

Huawei’s bid to overturn a ruling that prevents US government agencies from dealing with the company has failed.

The Chinese mobile giant had argued the ban, issued by Congress as part of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, was unconstitutional.

However a judge in Texas ruled that Congress was well within its powers to include the restrictions on both Huawei and ZTE – a move which has pleased the US Justice Department and disappointed Huawei.

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“While we understand the paramount significance of national security, the approach taken by the U.S. Government in the 2019 NDAA provides a false sense of protection while undermining Huawei’s constitutional rights. We will continue to consider further legal options,” a Huawei spokesperson is quoted as saying by Reuters.

The US ban forms part of a wider assault on Huawei by the US government in recent years. Although Huawei has effectively been frozen out of the US market to date, it does supply a number of smaller, rural operators who rely on the firm’s relatively inexpensive gear.

Washington has approved a funding package for these carriers to strip out this equipment and replace it with alternatives from the likes of Ericsson and Nokia, while it has also banned Huawei from dealing with US companies.

These actions are justified on national security grounds, however the US has never produced any evidence to support its claims and Huawei has persistently denied any allegations of wrongdoing.

Nonetheless, the US is pursuing a strategy of trying to limit Huawei’s influence in the market, not least by putting pressure on its allies to ban the use of the company’s kit in 5G networks. So far, this has been met with a lukewarm response with the UK allowing Huawei to play a role in 5G – albeit with some restrictions.

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Via Reuters