U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant ruled yesterday that Huawei can't sue over the decision to ban federal agencies from buying its telecommunications equipment.
That decision arrived with the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2019 that barred federal agencies from purchasing equipment from numerous China-based companies, including Huawei, over concerns about Chinese surveillance.
Huawei sued the U.S. government in March 2019 to contest the restrictions. The company accused the decision of violating its right to due process, which is guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment, in an effort to have it officially nullified.
Yet it seems that lawsuit won't be moving forward. Politico reported that Mazzant decided Congress was acting within its rights when it prevented federal agencies from purchasing equipment from Chinese telecommunications companies.
The ruling came down to an important distinction: Congress said that federal agencies couldn't buy from Huawei, not that Huawei couldn't sell to federal agencies. The government is--shockingly enough--allowed to decide how to spend its money.
Huawei told Politico that it "will continue to consider further legal options" after Mazzant's ruling. That was to be expected--we doubt either the company or the U.S. government would simply give up after a single ruling from a District Court judge.
