Judge rules against Huawei’s move to sue US government

by Marty Johnson - 02/18/20 4:18 PM ET

A U.S. District Court judge on Tuesday struck down a lawsuit from Chinese tech giant Huawei, ruling that the company didn’t have any legal ground to sue the U.S. government.

The telecommunications company had filed the lawsuit last year after Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act, which, among other things, prohibits federal agencies and contractors from purchasing certain products from Huawei and fellow Chinese tech giant ZTE.

In the complaint, Huawei claimed that the restrictions were overly punitive and singled out certain companies.

The Trump administration and congressional lawmakers have long had concerns over whether the Chinese government could use Huawei and ZTE to spy on the U.S.

However, District Judge Amos Mazzant concluded on Tuesday that the government wasn’t prohibiting Huawei from doing business in America, but was rather exercising its legal ability to control how federal money is spent.

“Huawei is disappointed in today’s ruling and while we understand the paramount significance of national security, the approach taken by the U.S. Government in the 2019 NDAA provides a false sense of protection while undermining Huawei’s constitutional rights,” a Huawei offiial told Politico in a statement.

“We will continue to consider further legal options,” the person added.

Tags China cybersecurity Huawei U.S. government United States ZTE