Huawei Technologies Co. Inc. filed a lawsuit against the US Commerce Department on Friday, challenging whether the telecommunications equipment that was seized in Alaska by the US government is covered by Export Administration Regulations, according to a court filing, reported Reuters.
In the lawsuit, Huawei said that it shipped telecommunications equipment from China, including a computer server and Ethernet switch, to a testing laboratory in California. After the testing was done, the equipment was shipped back to China. No application for a license was made because none was needed, the lawsuit claims.
The equipment was seized in Alaska by the US government before reaching China, and no decision has been made about whether a license is required to ship it, the filing said. Huawei contends that the equipment did not require a license because it did not fall into a controlled category and because it was made outside the United States and was being returned to the same country from which it came.
Huawei asked for the equipment to be either released for shipment or for the Commerce Department to decide that it was shipped illegally.