Huawei has filed a new legal motion challenging the US government ban as unconstitutional. The Chinese company has filed a motion for summary judgment as part of the process to challenge the constitutionality of Section 889 of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (2019 NDAA).
In the motion, Huawei argues that Section 889 specifically targets Huawei. “They are using every tool they have, including legislative, administrative, and diplomatic channels. They want to put us out of business,” Huawei chief legal officer Song Liuping said in a statement. Huawei is basically saying that the government ban is “a bill of attainder”. The legislation basically bars Congress to ban an entity or a group without a fair trial. The Chinese company says that Congress overstepped the law by imposing the ban, singling out Huawei and making it impossible to conduct business in the US.
“The judicial system is the last line of defence for justice. Huawei has confidence in the independence and integrity of the US judicial system. We hope that mistakes in the NDAA can be corrected by the court,” Song said.
The new motion is an update to Huawei’s lawsuit against section 889 of the NDAA. The US government order bars the US agencies as well as third parties to procure equipment from the company. Huawei filed a lawsuit against the US in March, saying that the action was unconstitutional. The Eastern District of Texas court has scheduled a hearing of the case in September 2019. “The U.S. government has provided no evidence to show that Huawei is a security threat. There is no gun, no smoke. Only speculation,” Song added.
The pressure is escalating on Huawei after the US government banned Huawei and its entity to do business in the county. The government argues that Huawei is being used by the Chinese government to spy on American networks and banning the company is within its national security powers.
Shortly after the ban, Google halted its business with the Chinese company. Qualcomm, Intel and Broadcom also halted their business with the brand. Even ARM also suspended its chip business with Huawei. According to an internal company memo, ARM is advising its employees to stop all contracts, support and pending agreements with Huawei, owing to the US originality of its technologies.
Huawei has been struck off from being a member of the SD Association which is a group that approves standardised specifications for SD and microSD cards. Adding fuel to the growing fire, WiFi Alliance has also restricted Huawei’s participation on a temporary basis.
However, the US government has given 90 days relaxation period to Huawei in order to maintain its existing network and give software update to the existing products. The government also suggested that Huawei ban could be lifted as part of a trade deal.