Huawei sues U.S. government, says ban on company is unconstitutional

Chinese tech giant Huawei is suing the U.S. government over a law that bans federal agencies from buying and using its products.

The company announced on Thursday that it filed suit in a district court in Plano, Texas to challenge the constitutionality of part of the National Defense Authorization Act. Signed into law by President Donald Trump, the NDAA bans federal agencies and their contractors from using the services of Huawei and its rival ZTE.

The company is seeking "a declaratory judgment that the restrictions targeting Huawei are unconstitutional and a permanent injunction against these restrictions," the company said.

Guo Ping, the company's rotating chairman, said the ban is illegal and prevents the company from "engaging in fair competition," which harms American consumers.

The lawsuit states that section 889 of the NDAA violates the bill of attainder clause and the due process clause of the Constitution because it bars government agencies from employing Huawei "without any executive or judicial process."

Song Liuping, Huawei's chief legal officer, said the NDAA "is based on numerous false, unproven and untested propositions."

"Contrary to the statute's premise, Huawei is not owned, controlled, or influenced by the Chinese government," Song said. "Moreover, Huawei has an excellent security record and program. No contrary evidence has been offered."

Similarly, John Suffolk, Huawei's global cyber security and privacy officer, said the company is "the most open, transparent and scrutinized company in the world."

The lawsuit is the latest action in the ongoing back-and-forth between China and the U.S. In addition to imposing tariffs on billions of dollars of goods, the U.S. requested that Huawei's chief financial officer be arrested. Meng Wanzhou was arrested last year in Canada.

Huawei states that with the NDAA restrictions lifted, the company can bring advanced 5G capabilities, something Trump has called for, to America.

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