What you need to know
- A federal court judge has dismissed Huawei's lawsuit against the U.S. government.
- Huawei was suing the U.S. over being banned from selling telecom equipment to the government, calling it unconstitutional.
- Judge Amos Mazzant ruled against Huawei, stating that working with the government is a privilege not constitutionally protected right.
In March of 2019, Huawei sued the U.S. government over the National Defense Authorization Act, calling it unconstitutional. The NDAA, which President Trump signed into law in 2018, prohibits the U.S. government and its contractors from purchasing telecommunications equipment from Huawei and ZTE.
For years, the U.S. government has slung accusations at Huawei over spying or being under the influence of the Chinese government. However, according to Huawei's suit, the ban failed to provide any evidence or the opportunity for Huawei to defend itself, making it unconstitutional.
Unfortunately for Huawei, Judge Amos Mazzant of the U.S. District Court in East Texas didn't see it that way. On February 18, 2020, he dismissed the lawsuit citing that working with the federal government is a privilege rather than a constitutionally provided right.
While the U.S. is abstaining from using Huawei's telecommunications equipment over national security, it appears that it is doing little to influence its allies from doing business with the Chinese tech giant. So far, the United Kingdom seems to be on board with Huawei providing equipment for its 5G network, and Germany looks poised to do the same.
In response, the U.S. government is reportedly working on a way to block even more chipmakers from doing business with Huawei. A report out of Reuters showed that a new chip proposal would prevent foreign companies from supplying Huawei with chips made using American equipment unless first obtaining a license. According to the trusted source, the proposal is already drafted, but it is uncertain whether or not it will get approved.
