Chinese tech company Huawei filed a lawsuit against the US Commerce Department on Friday over seized Chinese telecom equipment that was due to be returned to China, according to Reuters.
According to the court filing, Huawei shipped a server and an Ethernet switch for testing in a US-based laboratory. After the tests were completed, Huawei’s US office prepared to ship the equipment back to China, but the gear was seized by the Feds and stored in a warehouse in Alaska.
“The equipment, to the best of HT USA’s knowledge, remains in a bureaucratic limbo in an Alaskan warehouse,” Huawei said in its lawsuit.
In its lawsuit, the Chinese company states that Export Administration Regulations are the only reason that could be applied to justify seizing the equipment, asserting that those regulations cannot be applied to equipment that was manufactured outside the US, shipped to the US for testing and in the process of being returned to China.
The company demands the equipment either be released for shipment or for the Commerce Department to justify its actions.
In May, the White House added Huawei to a blacklist, barring it from buying US telecom parts and components without US government approval. The US claims Huawei’s telecom equipment can be exploited by Beijing for spying on American people. The company refuted the accusations.
Huawei’s Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou was arrested in December 2018 in Canada at the request of Washington over charges of misleading financial institutions on company dealings with a firm claimed to be operating in Iran in violation of US sanctions.
In January, the US Department of Justice rolled out financial fraud charges against Meng, who remains in Canadian custody fighting extradition requests. Her next extradition hearing is set for 20 January 2020, CBC reported in June.
US President Donald Trump suggested that his administration might resolve complaints about Huawei as part of a new trade deal with China.
