Huawei requests that a judge declare the US security statute unlawful

In an effort to keep its foothold in important markets for next-generation communications, Chinese tech giant Huawei is contesting the validity of a US law that restricts the amount of telecom equipment it can sell.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Song Liuping, the chief legal officer of Huawei, announced that the company had filed a motion for summary judgment, asking the Plano, Texas, court to decide whether or not a U.S. military spending clause that prohibits the government and its contractors from using Huawei equipment is constitutional.

As the largest manufacturer of network equipment worldwide, Huawei has a competitive advantage in 5G, or fifth-generation, technology. It is also the second-largest smartphone manufacturer. The Trump administration asserts that the business poses a threat to global cybersecurity because it may use its tools to spy for the Chinese government.

"This decision threatens to harm our customers in over 170 countries, including more than 3 billion customers who use Huawei products and services around the world," Song stated.

With its U.S. headquarters located in Plano, Huawei filed a complaint in March challenging a section of the national defense statute, referring to it as a "bill of attainder" that unfairly punishes the company and tramples on its right to due process by assuming guilt without a fair trial. According to a statement released by Huawei on Wednesday, the summary judgment move aims to expedite the legal proceedings in order to provide U.S. consumers with access to Huawei equipment sooner.

The "state-sanctioned campaign" against the corporation, according to Song, won't strengthen cybersecurity.

"Politicians in the U.S. are using the strength of an entire nation to come after a private company," he stated. "This is not normal."

In addition to the defense legislation clause, Huawei was recently included to the U.S. Commerce Department's "Entity List," which effectively prevents American companies from selling technology to Huawei and other Chinese companies without permission from the government. Nearly one-third of Huawei's suppliers are Americans, and the company depends significantly on American parts, particularly computer chips.

The actions taken against Huawei are a part of a larger trade war between the two biggest economies in the world, in which both sides are levying punitive tariffs worth billions of dollars on the goods of the other.

Beijing and Chinese businesses are accused of using unfair methods to get cutting-edge foreign technologies, and the disagreement is centered on China's enormous and sustained trade surplus with the United States.

Trump more than quadrupled levies on $200 billion in Chinese goods, and the last round of talks between Beijing and Washington concluded earlier this month without an accord. In retaliation, China increased taxes on $60 billion worth of American imports from 5% to 25%.

Huawei's U.S. partnerships have already been impacted by the actions taken against it. Google announced that while it will support Huawei smartphones going forward, upcoming models won't have access to its popular apps and services, such as search, Gmail, and maps. This move is expected to reduce the allure of Huawei phones.

According to Song, there is no proof from the US that Huawei poses a security risk.

He declared, "There is no gun, no smoke, only speculation," and charged that the United States was establishing a "dangerous precedent."

He declared, "Today it's telecoms and Huawei." "Tomorrow it could be your industry, your company, your consumers."

by Associated Press