Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. has confirmed that it is suing the U.S. government over a section of a defense bill passed into law last year that restricted its business in the United States. Huawei filed a complaint in a federal court in Texas challenging the constitutionality of Section 889 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which bans federal agencies and their contractors from procuring its equipment and services.
Huawei is the world’s leading producer of telecoms equipment and seeks to pioneer a global roll-out of 5G mobile networks and services. Founder and Chief Executive Ren Zhengfei has claimed that Huawei has never and will never share data with China’s government. The company argues that Section 889 is illegal because it could severely limit the company’s ability to do business in the United States despite no proof of wrongdoing.
McCarter partner Franklin Turner predicted that Huawei’s lawsuit will likely be dismissed because U.S. courts are reluctant to second-guess national security determinations by other branches of government, stating that the lawsuit “will be an uphill battle because Congress has broad authority to protect us from perceived national security threats.”