Huawei sues U.S. over stonewalling Freedom of Information Act requests – The Hindu

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Chinese telecom giant Huawei has sued multiple U.S. government agencies over allegations that the Trump administration is stonewalling legitimate Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

The requested documents relate to the trial of Huaweis Chief Financial Officer, Meng Wanzhou, who was arrested in December 2018 at Vancouver Airport on charges of extradition over violation of American sanctions on Iran.

U.S. claimed Meng lied to banks such as HSBC about Huawei's relationship with a subsidiary in Iran to obtain banking services.

Huawei also asked for information regarding the state of trade relations between the United States and China, and competition over the deployment of 5G technology.

In a complaint filed last week, Huawei said the government has failed to issue a determination regarding nine of the twelve FOIA requests despite having received those requests more than an year ago.

The other three requests answered have been responded in a wholly inadequate fashion, it added.

Defendants broad refusal to comply with their FOIA obligations is unacceptable, Huawei said in the complaint.

The Shenzhen-based company noted there are signs that the government is seeking to use the criminal charges against Meng to advance policy objectives unrelated to the even handed administration of criminal justice.

According to Huawei, the prosecution is being used as a leverage in the US governments ongoing trade dispute with China.

These requests are primarily aimed at identifying communications that could indicate improper bases for the prosecution of Plaintiffs and Meng, such as to interfere with Plaintiffs dominance in the 5G marketplace or strengthen the United States position in trade negotiations with China, Huawei said.

It believes the disclosure of documents may reveal the governments avowed interest in economic supremacy improperly influenced the decision to prosecute Meng.

The suit includes 16 U.S. government bodies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Bureau of Investigation (the FBI) among others.

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Huawei sues U.S. over stonewalling Freedom of Information Act requests - The Hindu