Huawei is suing the U.S. over a law that bans government agencies from buying the Chinese technology giant's equipment, claiming the legislation is unconstitutional, as the company goes on the front foot following months of political pressure.

The lawsuit, which was filed on Thursday local time, focuses on a provision in a law known as the National Defense Authorization Act. Section 889 of that legislation prohibits executive government agencies from procuring telecommunications hardware made by Huawei and another Chinese firm, ZTE. Both companies are explicitly named in the act.

But lawyers for the world's largest network equipment maker by revenue, argued that the provision in the NDAA is against the U.S. Constitution.

Huawei has faced intense pressure from President Donald Trump's administration, which claims the company's equipment could be used for espionage by the Chinese government. The tech giant is also facing criminal charges from the Justice Department, which has accused it of stealing trade secrets and skirting U.S. sanctions on Iran. The U.S. government has also tried to persuade allies against using Huawei gear.

Top executives, including the company's founder, have repeatedly denied the allegations that Huawei is a security risk, while the company has also been carrying out a major public relations push to change its image. The Chinese firm is now going on the legal offensive. </s> SHENZHEN, China -- Huawei today 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). It also called on the U.S. government to halt its state-sanctioned campaign against Huawei because it will not deliver cybersecurity.

Banning Huawei using cybersecurity 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," Song noted. "This is not normal. Almost never seen in history."

"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.

In the complaint, Huawei argues that Section 889 of the 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  even if there is no impact or connection to the U.S. government.

Song also addressed the addition of Huawei to the "Entity List" by the U.S. Commerce Department two weeks ago. "This sets a dangerous precedent. Today it's telecoms and Huawei. Tomorrow it could be your industry, your company, your consumers," he said.

"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," Song added.

Glen Nager, Huawei's lead counsel for the case, said Section 889 of the 2019 NDAA violates the Bill of Attainder, Due Process, and Vesting Clauses of the United States Constitution. Thus the case is purely "a matter of law" as there are no facts at issue, thereby justifying the motion for a summary judgement to speed up the process.

Huawei believes that U.S. suppression of Huawei will not help make networks more secure. Huawei expects the U.S. to take the right approach and adopt honest and effective measures to enhance cybersecurity for everyone, if the U.S. government's real goal is security.

In line with a court scheduling order, a hearing on the motion is set for Sept. 19. </s> In an astonishing gambit Huawei is suing the United States in a legal challenge that questions the constitutionality of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Huawei’s case is that section 889 of the NDAA signed into law by President Trump is unfairly targeting the company as it bans any U.S government agencies from buying their products or those of any third party supplier using Huawei equipment.

The Shenzhen-based technology company state that these measures have been taken without any judicial process and that section 889 violates US constitutional provisions.

Read this: 5G Security: NCSC CEO Says Huawei Not the Issue

A court filing [pdf] shows that Huawei is not just suing the United States of America: leading politicians have been named as defendants. (It is targeting specific departments that would normally purchase Huawei equipmen).

Huawei has signed up three law firms to launch the legal blitz: Siebman, Forrest, Burg & Smith, LLP; Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP; and Jones Day.

Huawei Sues US: Leading Politicians Also Named as Defendants

The Secretaries of Labor, Health, Education, Agruculture, Veteran Affairs and Acting Secretary of the Interior are all named as defendants in the filing.

A key provision Huawei’s lawyers cite in the court paper is the Due Process Clause. Huawei states that section 889 is “severely curtailing its freedom to do business, stigmatizing it by effectively branding it a tool of the Chinese government and a risk to U.S. security, and denying it any pre-deprivation legal process to confront the congressional charges against it.”

The case is part of an broader escalation in tariffs and legal cases between the US, Huawei and China as we have previously reported here on the US’s case. It is also part of a larger global conflict that Huawei is having with States as seen in our reporting on the UK’s concerns about the use of Huawei equipment.

Huawei Technologies USA Inc. and Huawei Technologies Co are the two plaintiffs named in the court filings that were submitted to the U.S District Court in Plano, Texas. Both entities are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Huawei Investment & Holding Co, which is headquartered in Shenzhen, China.

The National Defense Authorization Act Huawei is targeting was first passed in 1961 and essentially mandates what government agencies defence responsibilities are and dictates how they should spend their budgets.

Section 889 signed into law by Trump last August puts a prohibition on the purchases of: “Telecommunications equipment produced by Huawei Technologies Company or ZTE Corporation (or any subsidiary or affiliate of such entities).”

Huawei Chairman Guo Ping commented in a release: “The U.S. Congress has repeatedly failed to produce any evidence to support its restrictions on Huawei products. We are compelled to take this legal action as a proper and last resort.”

“This ban not only is unlawful, but also restricts Huawei from engaging in fair competition, ultimately harming U.S. consumers.”

Huawei makes the case in its court fillings that consumers in the U.S will be directly affected by Section 889 as they will be “be deprived of access to the most advanced technologies”.

The technology company states that consumers in rural and low-income areas will suffer the most as without Huawei equipment and services they will face “higher prices and a significantly less competitive market.” It highlights 5G technologies in particular, commenting that American consumers will not have access to state-of-the-art networks or services.

In the court papers the company insisted that its security protocols and measures are of the highest standards writing that: “Huawei equipment and services are subject to advanced security procedures, and no backdoors, implants, or other intentional security vulnerabilities have been documented in any of the more than 170 countries in the world where Huawei equipment and services are used.”

The legal case taken by Huawei this week is similar to a case taken by Kaspersky Lab a Russian-based cybersecurity company in 2018, which sought to challenge a US ban on the integration of any of its software into government systems. That case was thrown out by a Federal appeals court.

Guo Ping commented that: “If this law is set aside, as it should be, Huawei can bring more advanced technologies to the United States and help it build the best 5G networks. Huawei is willing to address the U.S. Government’s security concerns. Lifting the NDAA ban will give the U.S. Government the flexibility it needs to work with Huawei and solve real security issues.” </s> HONG KONG (Reuters) - China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd has filed a legal motion seeking to declare a U.S. defense law unconstitutional, in the telecom equipment maker’s latest bid to fight sanctions from Washington that threaten to push it out of global markets.

The motion for summary judgment in its lawsuit against the U.S. government, filed late on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, asks a judge to declare the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) unconstitutional. Huawei filed its lawsuit in March.

The NDAA bill, passed by the U.S. Congress last summer, places a broad ban on federal agencies and their contractors from using Huawei equipment on national security grounds, citing the company’s ties with the Chinese government.

Huawei, the world’s largest telecoms network gear maker, has repeatedly denied it is controlled by the Chinese government, military or intelligence services.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo kept up the pressure on Huawei on Wednesday.

“Huawei is an instrument of the Chinese government,” Pompeo said in an interview with Fox Business Network. “They’re deeply connected. It’s something that’s hard for Americans to understand.”

Glen Nager, a partner at law firm Jones Day and lead counsel for Huawei, told Reuters the U.S. court had agreed on a schedule to hold hearings in September on motions by opposing sides.

Some legal experts said Huawei’s lawsuit was likely to be dismissed because U.S. courts are reluctant to second-guess national security determinations by other branches of government.

The lawsuit “will be an uphill battle because Congress has broad authority to protect us from perceived national security threats,” said Franklin Turner, a government contracts lawyer at McCarter & English.

In November 2018, a federal appeals court rejected a similar lawsuit filed by Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab, which was challenging a ban on the use of the company’s software in U.S. government networks.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Commerce Department put Huawei on a trade blacklist that bans companies from doing business with the Chinese firm, a move which immediately disrupted the global tech sector.

Huawei’s chief legal officer, Song Liuping, on Wednesday said the company was reviewing ways to fight the U.S. ban, which he said was affecting its more than 1,200 suppliers and threatened to affect its 3 billion customers in 170 countries.

Song said Washington’s use of administrative orders and laws to punish a single company “sets a very dangerous precedent.”

“Today it is telecom and Huawei, tomorrow it could be your company, your industry, your customers,” he told reporters at Huawei’s headquarters in Shenzhen.

The ban, along with separate accusations of bank fraud and corporate theft that the United States has made against Huawei and its chief financial officer, has exacerbated the trade war between Beijing and Washington.

Huawei, which has been given a 90-day reprieve from the ban, has denied its products pose a security threat and protested Washington’s attempts to limit its business.

Vincent Pang, Huawei’s senior vice president and head of corporate communications, said the executive order and blacklist had transcended the boundaries of normal market competition.

“This could lead to the start of the fragmentation of the global tech ecosystem and standards,” Pang said on Wednesday at Huawei’s headquarters.

Pang also said he did not expect the “political” situation to delay the introduction in China of fifth-generation (5G) network technology. </s> Huawei has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government, claiming that its efforts to block the Chinese company from selling telecom equipment to federal agencies and other parties is unconstitutional. Huawei made the announcement at a press conference in Shenzhen, and executives read their prepared statements off of Huawei’s Mate X foldable smartphone.

The lawsuit was filed in Plano, Texas, where Huawei’s U.S. headquarters is based. The U.S. government has alleged for some time that the Chinese government could use Huawei’s telecommunications equipment to spy on U.S. networks, which is why it has gone so far as to persuade other governments to ban Huawei products. It has even disrupted a potential deal between Huawei and AT&T in 2018, where the carrier would sell the Chinese company’s smartphones. Huawei has repeatedly denied these allegations, and an executive at the press conference said the company “has not and will never implant any backdoors.”

Huawei’s biggest complaint is that the U.S. government has “never provided any evidence that Huawei poses a cyber security threat.” The company said it was left with no choice but to issue the lawsuit, which focuses on a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act. The provision specifically bans government agencies from purchasing telecommunications equipment from not just Huawei, but also ZTE. If you recall, ZTE was banned from the U.S. for most of 2018, but the ban has since lifted and it’s able to work with U.S. suppliers again.

The U.S. Justice Department recently accused Huawei of stealing trade secrets, and also accused the company of doing business with Iran despite U.S. sanctions. These charges were made in an effort to extradite Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s chief financial officer, who was arrested and detained in Canada. A hearing is set to take place on May 8 to determine whether Wanzhou will face charges in the U.S.

Huawei has slowly been trying to repair its image in the U.S. — it placed full-page ads in the Wall Street Journal last week titled, “Don’t believe everything you hear.”

“I am writing to you in the hopes that we can come to understand each other better,” Catherine Chen. director of the board at Huawei, wrote in the open letter. “In recent years, the US government has developed some misunderstandings about us. We would like to draw your attention to the facts.”

The letter goes on to mention the 170 countries and regions Huawei operates in, the company’s history, and the types of services it provides. </s> Huawei is suing the United States government following what it says are unconstitutional sales restrictions imposed by congress.

In a press conference from its offices in Shenzhen, the China-based technology company announced it has filed a complaint with the US federal court to challenge the constitutionality of Section 889 of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

“The U.S. Congress has repeatedly failed to produce any evidence to support its restrictions on Huawei products. We are compelled to take this legal action as a proper and last resort,” said Guo Ping, Huawei Rotating Chairman.

“This ban not only is unlawful, but also restricts Huawei from engaging in fair competition, ultimately harming U.S. consumers. We look forward to the court’s verdict, and trust that it will benefit both Huawei and the American people.”

The lawsuit was filed in a US district court in Plano, Texas.

This follows building tension between the US and Huawei after the US reportedly barred federal agencies from using Huawei tech. The US has long voiced concerns that Huawei technology – along with its fellow Chinese telecom company ZTE – could pose a security risk, fearing that the company’s technology could act as a backdoor for the Chinese government to spy.

The ban also bars Huawei from contracting with or awarding grants or loans to third parties who buy Huawei equipment or services, without any executive or judicial process.

They say it violates the Bill of Attainder Clause and the Due Process Clause. It also violates the Separation-of-Powers principles enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, because Congress is both making the law, and attempting to adjudicate and execute it.

“Section 889 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. Moreover, Huawei has an excellent security record and program. No contrary evidence has been offered,” said Song Liuping, Huawei’s Chief Legal Office.

The restrictions are particularly hurting Huawei’s rollout of 5G in the US, which could reduce the cost of wireless infrastructure by between 15% and 40%. This would save North America at least $20 billion (R284 million) over the next four years.

Thanks to a partnership with Huawei, South African mobile data-only network operator Rain, could beat cellphone network giants Vodacom, MTN, Cell C and Telkom to 5G in South Africa. They plan leverage their existing licensed spectrum on 4G, to bring 5G to South Africa by mid-2019. </s> (SHENZHEN, China) — Chinese tech giant Huawei filed a motion in U.S. court Wednesday challenging the constitutionality of a law that limits its sales of telecom equipment, the latest action in an ongoing clash with the U.S. government.

Huawei’s chief legal officer Song Liuping said at press briefing that Huawei had filed a motion for summary judgment asking the court to rule on whether it is constitutional for the U.S. to implement a military spending provision that bars the government and its contractors from using Huawei equipment.

Huawei is the biggest global maker of network equipment, but it is now fighting to maintain access to major markets for next-generation communications as the U.S. claims the company threatens international cybersecurity.

In March, Huawei launched its suit against the U.S. law in Plano, Texas, the headquarters of its U.S. operations. The summary judgment motion seeks to accelerate the legal process to give U.S. customers access to Huawei equipment sooner, according to a Wednesday statement from Huawei.

Song said the “state-sanctioned campaign” against the company will not improve cybersecurity.

“Politicians in the U.S. are using the strength of an entire nation to come after a private company,” he said. “This is not normal.” </s> Huawei said it had filed a complaint in a federal court in Texas challenging the constitutionality of Section 889 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a section signed into law by the U.S. president in August that banned federal agencies and their contractors from procuring its equipment and services.

"The U.S. Congress has repeatedly failed to produce any evidence to support its restrictions on Huawei products. We are compelled to take this legal action as a proper and last resort," Huawei Rotating Chairman Guo Ping said in a statement.

"This ban not only is unlawful, but also restricts Huawei from engaging in fair competition, ultimately harming U.S. consumers. We look forward to the court's verdict, and trust that it will benefit both Huawei and the American people."

While Huawei had very little market share in the U.S. telecoms market before the bill, it is the world's biggest producer of telecoms equipment and is seeking to be at the forefront of a global roll-out of fifth generation (5G) mobile networks and services.

"Lifting the NDAA ban will give the U.S. Government the flexibility it needs to work with Huawei and solve real security issues," Guo said.

In its lawsuit, Huawei said its "equipment and services are subject to advanced security procedures, and no backdoors, implants, or other intentional security vulnerabilities have been documented in any of the more than 170 countries in the world where Huawei equipment and services are used."

The privately owned firm has embarked on a public relations and legal offensive as Washington lobbies allies to abandon Huawei when building 5G mobile networks, centering on a 2017 Chinese law requiring companies cooperate with national intelligence work.

Founder and Chief Executive Ren Zhengfei has said Huawei, the world's biggest telecoms gear maker, has never and will never share data with China's government.

The NDDA bans the U.S. government from doing business with Huawei or compatriot peer ZTE Corp or from doing business with any company that has equipment from the two firms as a "substantial or essential component" of their system.

In its lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Texas, Huawei argues that the section of the law is illegal because it could sharply limit the company's ability to do business in the United States despite no proof of wrongdoing.

Separately, the lawsuit also alleges that Huawei has been denied due process and that Congress, by stripping Huawei of U.S. commercial opportunities, has violated the "separation of powers" portion of the constitution by doing the work of the courts.

Some legal experts, however, said Huawei's lawsuit is likely to be dismissed because U.S. courts are reluctant to second-guess national security determinations by other branches of government.

The lawsuit "will be an uphill battle because Congress has broad authority to protect us from perceived national security threats," said Franklin Turner, a government contracts lawyer at McCarter & English.

In November 2018, a federal appeals court rejected a similar lawsuit filed by Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab, which was challenging a ban on the use of the company's software in U.S. government networks.

The Texas court hearing Huawei's case will not be bound by that decision, but will likely adopt its reasoning because of the similarities in the two disputes, said Steven Schwinn, a professor at the John Marshall Law School in Chicago.

"I don't see how (Huawei) can really escape that result," said Schwinn.

If a judge decides Huawei has a plausible claim the case will proceed to the discovery phase, in which internal documents are shared and U.S. government officials could be forced to provide testimony and lay out their national security concerns.

The legal action and public relations outreach compare with a more restrained response in December emphasizing "trust in justice" when its chief financial officer, Sabrina Meng Wanzhou, was arrested in Vancouver at U.S. request.

The United States has accused Meng - Ren's daughter - of bank and wire fraud related to breaches of trade sanctions against Iran.

Meng appeared in court on Wednesday during which her lawyer expressed concern that the allegations have a political character, raising U.S. President Donald Trump's comments on the case.

Separately, Meng, who is fighting extradition, is suing Canada's government for procedural wrongs in her arrest.

The case had strained relations with China, which this week accused two arrested Canadians of stealing state secrets in a move widely seen as retribution for Meng's arrest.

While Meng is under house arrest in Vancouver, it is unclear where the two Canadians are being detained in China. Sources previously told Reuters that at least one of the Canadians did not have access to legal representation.

Ren met international media for the first time in several years in mid-January, calling U.S. President Donald Trump "great" and refraining from commenting directly on Meng's case. Shifting tone, Ren in mid-February said Meng's arrest was politically motivated and "not acceptable".

Long before Trump initiated a trade war with China, Huawei's activities were under scrutiny by U.S. authorities, according to interviews with 10 people familiar with the Huawei probes and documents related to the investigations seen by Reuters. </s> SHENZHEN, China (AP) — Chinese tech giant Huawei filed a motion in U.S. court Wednesday challenging the constitutionality of a law that limits its sales of telecom equipment, the latest action in an ongoing clash with the U.S. government.

Huawei's chief legal officer Song Liuping said at press briefing that Huawei had filed a motion for summary judgment asking the court to rule on whether it is constitutional for the U.S. to implement a military spending provision that bars the government and its contractors from using Huawei equipment.

Huawei is the biggest global maker of network equipment, but it is now fighting to maintain access to major markets for next-generation communications as the U.S. claims the company threatens international cybersecurity.

In March, Huawei launched its suit against the U.S. law in Plano, Texas, the headquarters of its U.S. operations. The summary judgment motion seeks to accelerate the legal process to give U.S. customers access to Huawei equipment sooner, according to a Wednesday statement from Huawei.

Song said the "state-sanctioned campaign" against the company will not improve cybersecurity.

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

Associated Press video producer Olivia Zhang contributed to this report.
Huawei files for a summary judgment, seeking to expedite its March lawsuit against the U.S. Government, challenging the constitutionality of Section 889 of the National Defense Authorization Act that bans U.S. executive government agencies from procuring Huawei and ZTE telecommunications equipment based on national security.