Huawei calls for swift court resolution to trade ban

Huawei’s chief legal officer Song Liuping spoke out against the US’s trade offensive against the firm this week, arguing that it set a dangerous precedent not just for itself, but for other firms both domestic and foreign.

To recap, two weeks ago Huawei was placed on a blocked entities list which prevented US companies from trading with them. In the fallout, Huawei lost access to Google’s Android, Windows, ARM chips, WiFi and Bluetooth consortiums etc. Nothing much, just everything the firm needed to run a competitive computing and smart device business. Huawei argues that it’ll have a new mobile OS in time for Christmas, but don’t hold your breath. The firm’s products also found themselves subject to a high return rate and a fast depreciation in market value as customers and resellers rushed to offload their products onto each other like a bizarre game of consumeristic hot potato.

Song Liuping said:

This decision threatens to harm our customers in over 170 countries, including more than three billion consumers who use Huawei products and services around the world.

By preventing American companies from doing business with Huawei, the government will directly harm more than 1,200 US companies. This will affect tens of thousands of American jobs.

The firm filed a lawsuit against the US in March and is now hoping it can be expedited with the change of circumstances.

This sentiment that Huawei’s ban is one which could have a ripple effect is one echoed by Bloomberg, whose editors note that “Blameless companies around the world — including Huawei’s American suppliers — could lose business, face disruptions and incur significant new costs” and that “allies that have resisted U.S. pressure to shun Huawei’s equipment will resent being backed into a corner.”

Earlier this week, Huawei’s CEO said he would fight a similar Apple ban as both Apple and Nike prepare for China’s wrath.