Huawei to continue challenging constitutionality of US ban

SHENZHEN -- China's tech giant Huawei said Thursday it will continue to challenge the constitutionality of the latest US ban on agencies from purchasing the company's telecom gears.

The US government on Wednesday issued an interim regulation, prohibiting its federal agencies from purchasing telecommunications equipment and services from five Chinese companies, including Huawei, according to an official website run by General Services Administration, the US government agency responsible for contracting.

In a media statement, the Shenzhen-based company called the action "not unexpected" as it is the continued promulgation of the rules laid out by the National Defense Administration Act (NDAA) of 2019.

The NDAA, signed by President Donald Trump last year, included a ban on US government agencies and those receiving federal grants and loans from doing business with Huawei and companies substantially using Huawei products.

"The NDAA law and its implementing provisions will do nothing to ensure the protection of US telecom networks and systems and rather is a trade barrier based on country-of-origin," the company said.

Huawei said it will continue to challenge the constitutionality of the ban in the US federal court.

"Ultimately, it will be rural citizens across the US that will be most negatively impacted as the networks they use for digital connectivity rely on Huawei," the company said.

On May 27, Song Liuping, Huawei's chief legal officer, wrote in an opinion article in the Wall Street Journal that Huawei had sued and would file a motion for summary judgment asking a US court to declare the NDAA law unconstitutional.