Chinese vendor Huawei has filed a motion for summary judgment in a U.S. court, as part of the process to challenge the constitutionality of a section of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
In the legal claim, Huawei argues that Section 889 of 2019 NDAA singles out Huawei by name and not only bars U.S. government agencies from buying Huawei equipment and services, but also bars them from contracting with or awarding grants or loans to third parties who buy Huawei equipment or services.
The Chinese company also urged the Trump administration to halt its campaign against Huawei over security allegations.
“Banning Huawei using cyber security as an excuse will do nothing to make networks more secure. They provide a false sense of security, and distract attention from the real challenges we face,” said Song Liuping, Huawei’s chief legal officer. “Politicians in the U.S. are using the strength of an entire nation to come after a private company. This is not normal. Almost never seen in history,” the executive said.
“The U.S. government has provided no evidence to show that Huawei is a security threat,” Song added. “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 executive said.
Meanwhile, Glen Nager, Huawei’s lead counsel for the case, said Section 889 on the 2019 NDAA violates the Bill of Attainder, Due Process, and Vesting Clauses of the United States Constitution.
In March, Huawei had filed a legal complaint in a U.S. federal court that challenges the constitutionality of a ban on U.S. government agencies using its equipment and seeking a permanent injunction against the restriction.
In August 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump signed the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, which included new regulations that banned government agencies doing business with Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE.
The bill prohibits the U.S. government and its contractors from buying certain telecommunications and video surveillance equipment from Huawei, ZTE and other Chinese communications companies. The ban covers components and services deemed “essential” or “critical” to any government system.
The lawsuit was filed in a U.S. District Court in Plano, Texas, where the vendor has its U.S. headquarters.
Earlier this month, the U.S. government confirmed that the Department of Commerce had added Chinese vendor Huawei to its so-called “Entity List”, a decision that effectively banned the company from buying parts and components from U.S. companies without government approval.
Under the order, Huawei will need a U.S. government license to buy components from American suppliers. The DoC said that a license may be denied if the sale or transfer would harm U.S. national security or foreign policy interests.
Following this order, U.S. chipmakers including Intel, Qualcomm, Xilinx and Broadcom have told their employees they will not supply Huawei until further notice. Also, Google suspended the transfer of hardware, software and technical services to Huawei as a consequence of the ban.
Soon after implementing this ban, the Trump administration announced that it would ease some of the restrictions in a move to give operators time to make other arrangements. The government said that the new measure will be valid for three months.
“This sets a dangerous precedent. Today it’s telecoms and Huawei. Tomorrow it could be your industry, your company, your consumers,” Song said.
