The rivalry Huawei and the US government can be called different words and different analogies can be drawn. Some will say that this rivalry is reminiscent of the “race” of Tom and Jerry. Others will point out that the two are like the King of the Hill players. And someone will even compare the US government with a big guy who rested his palm on the student's forehead, and he, in turn, tries to reach him, but cannot. Comparisons can be any, but we must pay tribute to the Chinese, who do not give up their attempts to break through and regain an honest name, and at the same time very profitable markets. The next round of this confrontation was an appeal Huawei to the US court, with a request to declare illegal the actions of the government of this country. What came of it?
This trial will “be forever if I change the batteries.”
Huawei sues the US government
It was foolish to expect that Huawei, after the ban on working with companies that may be associated with the United States, would simply fold its wings and abandon attempts to conquer the world with its electronics. Let's be honest, very good electronics. Therefore, not so long ago, the management of the company, after consulting with their lawyers, decided to file a claim and apply to the court of the Eastern District of Texas with it.
The lawsuit was based on the demand to declare illegal the actions of the US government in relation to the ban Huawei on the supply of equipment to the American market, in particular, the purchase of equipment or services by government agencies.
The claim relates to section 889 of the NDAA (National Defense Act), which, among other things, prohibits the use of federal funds, as well as grants and loans to buy telecommunications equipment or the services of its manufacturers. Naturally, Huawei is included in the “black list”.
As previously reported, this is due to the accusations of a company from the Middle Kingdom that it collects data from users, including government agencies, and may conduct espionage for the Chinese government. According to the assurances of the company's management, the charges are absolutely unfounded.
Initially, it could have been assumed that the proceedings would be long and we would find more than one reason to talk about it, but all the company's attempts to achieve justice were literally “shot down on takeoff”.
Lawsuit Huawei against the US government dismissed
According to Politico, the claim Huawei was rejected. District Judge Amos Mazzant ruled that the actions of the Congress were completely legal and in accordance with all statutes. In particular, this applies to purchases of equipment from Huawei and ZTE.
The decision was substantiated by a similar lawsuit filed by another company accused of espionage – Russian Kaspersky Lab. In that case, the plaintiff also received a refusal to consider the case.
The judge refused Huawei to consider the case.
Of course, the proceedings will not end there, and it is clear from the reaction Huawei to such actions of the judge that the company will not leave it that way and will look for other ways to consider this case.
What is the future of Huawei
Few would argue that things are not going well for Huawei, and all the obstacles that are being built in their way will clearly not benefit them in the near future. On the other hand, a company with such a margin of safety and support at home has every opportunity to emerge from this “storm” only stronger. At the same time, support in China is especially relevant, because this is a country in which almost a quarter of the world's population lives.
For now, we can only observe how the company's management, its lawyers and engineers are trying to get around these rocks and find solutions that will allow us to cope with the situation. These include legal attempts to resolve the issues described above, the creation of its own infrastructure and application store, as well as the observed diversification of the company's activities. The last point can be attributed to the emergence of many new gadgets that are not associated with Android. Examples include watches, fitness trackers, headphones, smart home gadgets, and laptops.
We continue to watch what is happening and hope that we will not lose this player. Even if you don't like his smartphones, they still have an impact on the market and make other manufacturers move.