Huawei sues U.S. Department of Commerce over seized equipment

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Huawei Technologies USA (HT USA) filed a civil lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Commerce in connection with the seizure of its equipment in 2017.

In its complaint, HT USA alleged that the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) Export Enforcement (EE) failed to perform its duties after sequestering several pieces of its equipment.

An independent laboratory in California tested the equipment, which was sent to HT USA by its parent company Huawei in China. After the successful completion of the testing, HT USA shipped the equipment back to China without applying and obtaining a license under Export Administration Regulations (EAR).

The company explained, “At the time of the shipment, no licenses were required under the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) for Chinese-origin equipment of this type to be shipped from the United States to China. Accordingly, there was no application made for a license.”

Commerce Department allegedly violated the APA and U.S. Constitution

In September 2017, the Commerce Department seized the shipment, offloaded and detained it in Anchorage, Alaska. Its objective was to investigate whether a license is required to ship it to China.