Huawei makes a legal move
The Chinese telecommunications giant is asking a court to overturn the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to label it a national security threat, accusing the agency of overstepping its authority.
“The order on review potentially impacts the financial interests of the telecommunications industry as a whole,” reads the request filed with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday.
Huawei has consistently pushed back on allegations that it poses a security threat, arguing that the decisions to punish it have been grounded in anti-Chinese sentiment rather than fact.
The Biden administration has yet to make its stance on Huawei clear, not committing on whether the company will be removed from the Commerce Department’s entity list.
DOUBTS FROM WITHIN: Ren Zhengfei, the founder of Chinese tech giant Huawei, said Tuesday he doesn’t expect the Biden administration to lift sanctions former President Trump imposed on the company.
“I won’t say it’s impossible, but it’s extremely unlikely. We basically aren’t considering it a possibility,” Ren told reporters at a news conference, according to The Associated Press.
Zhengfei said Huawei will not likely be removed from the Commerce Department’s sanctions list, a designation which ended the company’s ability to purchase processor chips and other smartphone parts manufactured in the U.S.
Republicans have been pushing to keep the company on the list, with GOP senators putting pressure on Biden’s Commerce secretary nominee, current Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo (D), over her comments on Huawei.