Huawei this morning began the process of challenging the Trump administration’s sweeping ban. The Chinese hardware giant has filed a motion for summary judgement that calls into question the constitutionality of the section of the National Defense Authorization Act used to halt imports.
The company’s chief legal officer cited Huawei’s usual arrays of arguments against the U.S. government. “Politicians in the U.S. are using the strength of an entire nation to come after a private company,” Song Liuping said in a prepared statement. “This is not normal. Almost never seen in history.”
Huawei, of course, has long been scrutinized by the U.S. over alleged ties to the Chinese government tied to security concerns with its mobile devices and networking equipment, including 5G infrastructure. The company has also been dinged for alleged violations of U.S. sanctions with countries like Iran.
The issues between parties have heated up dramatically in recent months, leading to a ban on U.S. companies doing business with Huawei. While the smartphone maker has suggested that it has backup plans in the works to become self-sufficient, the inability to do business with software and components companies like Google and ARM could be insurmountable.
Song’s statement struck some dystopian overtones, suggesting that the recent addition of the company to the U.S. Commerce Department’s Entity List “sets a dangerous precedent,” issuing an ominous warning to fellow companies. “The U.S. government has provided no evidence to show that Huawei is a security threat. There is no gun, no smoke. Only speculation,” he added.
A hearing for the motion is scheduled for September 19.