The US Department of Justice has upgraded legal action against Huawei, accusing the company of extortion and conspiracy to steal trade secrets of six tech companies.

The US Department of Justice stated in court documents that Huawei and several of its subsidiaries in the United States and China used deception to obtain intellectual property rights from US companies and use them in commercial products. The company allegedly obtained source code and user manuals for Internet routers, antenna technology, and robotics testing technology.

The allegations are linked to another allegation made by the US Department of Justice in January 2019, claiming that Huawei is suspected of bank fraud, sanctions violations, and theft of intellectual property rights of T-Mobile in the United States. The US government notes that the investigation is ongoing.

Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou and four affiliates were listed as defendants in this latest case. The U.S. Department of Justice states that Huawei obtained the information in violation of a confidentiality agreement with a U.S. company; hired employees from other companies and asked them to share trade secrets of former employers, and used agents such as professors at research institutions to gain knowledge property. It added that these activities date back to 1999.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the U.S. Department of Commerce announced it was extending a Temporary General License (TGL) for Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and its non-U.S. affiliates on the Entity List for an additional 45 days.  

The 45-day extension is necessary to allow existing telecommunication providers—particularly those in rural U.S. communities—the ability to continue to temporarily and securely operate existing networks while they identify alternatives to Huawei for future operation.  American technology should not be acquired by Huawei and its foreign affiliates and used in a manner that undermines U.S. national security or foreign policy interests.  During the next 45 days, the Department intends to determine the need for any future extensions of the TGL. 

The TGL amends the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to authorize specific, limited engagement in transactions involving the export, reexport, and transfer of items subject to the EAR to Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and non-U.S. affiliates on the Entity List until April 1, 2020 – Commerce.gov report.

Huawei responded:
The new complaint filed by the U.S. Department of Justice is not based on law enforcement purposes but is intended to cause irreversible damage to Huawei’s reputation and operations for competitive reasons.

The company pointed out in a statement that these unfounded new allegations are basically based on civil disputes over the past two decades, which have previously been settled or proceeded, and some have been federal judges Dismissed by jury. He added that the US government’s allegations will not be supported and “we will prove that these allegations are baseless and unfair.”

Extension of temporary trade permit:

Despite the clamor, the U.S. Department of Commerce suddenly announced that it would extend the validity of the temporary trade permit for another 45 days to allow U.S. companies to continue doing business with Huawei.

Since Huawei was blacklisted in May 2019, the temporary licenses issued by the US Department of Commerce to US companies have been repeatedly extended.

The existing license will expire on February 16. For more information, please visit www.bis.doc.gov