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Huawei reportedly preparing to sue US government over ban

It'll announce the suit later this week, the New York Times and Reuters reported.

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Huawei will hit the US government with a lawsuit, a report said.

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Huawei is gearing up to sue the US government over its ban on federal agencies using its products, reports said Monday.

The Chinese telecom equipment maker will file its lawsuit in the Eastern District of Texas (its US headquarters is located in Plano, Texas), according to the New York Times and Reuters, each of which cited anonymous sources.

It'll apparently challenge an addition to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which President Donald Trump signed last year, Reuters reported.

The company, which has been mired in scandal, will reportedly announce the suit on Thursday, when it holds a press conference at its headquarters in Shenzhen, China.

Washington has long deemed Huawei's products a security threat, citing the company's close links with the Chinese government and saying that its equipment could be used to spy on other countries and companies. That's why Huawei's smartphones are hard to come by the US despite its status as the world's no. 2 smartphone maker.

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In recent interviews, Huawei's founder dismissed allegations that his company's products were being used to spy for China.

Huawei has faced increased scrutiny of late, with several countries banning the use of its networking equipment as they prepare to roll out 5G, the next generation of cellular technology. Last week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reiterated the US security concerns, while Huawei pleaded not guilty to stealing trade secrets.

On Friday, Canada approved a hearing on the extradition of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou to the US. She was arrested in December over alleged violations of Iran sanctions.

Meng is suing the Canadian government, police force and border agency, saying she was searched and interrogated before being told she was under arrest, our sister site ZDNet reported Monday.

First published at 3:51 a.m. PT.
Updated at 6:48 a.m. PT: Adds details from Reuters.

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