After sustaining a salvo of severed business ties with its U.S. partners such as Google and semiconductor giant ARM and European suppliers like German chipmaker Infineon in light of the U.S. trade ban, Huawei announced today that it has asked the court to accelerate its verdict on a motion to reverse the Trump administration"s actions against the company.
The court motion is in connection with Huawei"s recent lawsuit filed against the U.S. government in a district court in Plano, Texas earlier this year. That lawsuit sought to challenge the constitutionality of Section 889 of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). That provision bars the Chinese tech giant from selling hardware and services to the U.S. government agencies and forbids contracts and grants from being awarded to third-party firms that use Huawei"s products.
In a statement issued during a press conference in Shenzhen, China on Wednesday, Huawei’s Chief Legal Officer Song Liuping said:
"These actions will do nothing to make networks more secure. They provide a false sense of security, and distract attention from the real challenges we face."
Song added that the U.S. government has yet to present evidence that could prove that Huawei is a security threat. Late last year, the company"s officials challenged the U.S. government to show proof of security risks from its products.
Addressing Trump"s recent inclusion of Huawei in the “Entity List” by the U.S. Commerce Department, Song said:
“This sets a dangerous precedent. Today it"s telecoms and Huawei. Tomorrow it could be your industry, your company, your consumers. 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."
The court is set to hear the motion on September 19. The recent challenges facing Huawei have raised concerns over the future of its products both for consumers and enterprises. Fortunately, the company received a 90-day reprieve and managed to resume business with Google and other key suppliers for the time being.
Still, the company"s future remains in limbo, though it remains to be seen how this whole narrative unfolds depending on whether the U.S. and China reach a viable trade agreement.