Huawei Files New Motion Against Federal Ban

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Huawei has filed a new motion in its case to have a federal ban on its equipment declared unconstitutional, as the firm continues its PR offensive.

The Shenzhen giant filed for a “summary judgement” as part of a case launched in March to challenge the constitutionality of Section 889 of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (2019 NDAA).

That law explicitly bans government agencies from doing business with Huawei or other third parties that use its kit.

The new motion will look to speed up the judgement process without the need for a full trial, which experts reportedly say may also be a tactical move designed to avoid the firm having to hand over sensitive company documents as part of legal discovery.

“The U.S. government has provided no evidence to show that Huawei is a security threat. There is no gun, no smoke. Only speculation,” Huawei chief legal officer, Song Liuping, said in a statement.

“The judicial system is the last line of defense for justice. Huawei has confidence in the independence and integrity of the U.S. judicial system. We hope that mistakes in the NDAA can be corrected by the court.”

The federal ban is just one of a series of recent legal moves designed to shut Huawei out from the US market and impact its ability to operate freely.

Most recently, a Presidential executive order issued earlier this month effectively extended the ban to all US companies, although it did not name Huawei and China by name.

The same day, the Commerce Department put the firm on an Entity List, which means US firms that sell key components like chips to Huawei must stop doing so from around 90 days’ time.

A hearing on the new motion is set for September 19.

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