Huawei has announced that its U.S. subsidiary, Huawei Technologies USA Inc. (HT USA), has dropped a lawsuit against several U.S. agencies including the U.S. Commerce Department. The lawsuit was originally filed in June after some of its telecommunications equipment was seized back in September 2017. Huawei pointed out that the U.S. never stated a reason for seizing the hardware.
The equipment taken by the U.S. government included computer servers, Ethernet switches, and “other telecommunications gear” made by Huawei. The company was in the process of testing and certifying the hardware at a California laboratory. The U.S. seized the hardware in transit citing “unidentified export violation concerns” and has since held onto the hardware.
After filing a lawsuit on June 21, Huawei managed to get a response from the U.S. in August. The U.S. government wrote to HT USA explaining that no export license was required to ship the hardware to China and that the firm had complied with the Export Administration Regulations when it tried to ship the hardware initially.
Commenting on the matter, Dr. Song Liuping, Huawei’s chief legal officer, said:
“Arbitrary and unlawful government actions like this – detaining property without cause or explanation – should serve as a cautionary tale for all companies doing normal business in the United States, and should be subject to legal constraints.”
HT USA has put in a notice of voluntary dismissal with the United States District Court for District of Columbia to try to ascertain why the U.S. took the equipment and why it was being released now. The U.S. government is yet to respond.