FedEx Sues U.S. Commerce Department Over Huawei Trade Blacklist Burden
FedEx files a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Commerce, arguing that the government unfairly deputizes the delivery company to enforce trade blacklists. The legal action follows an incident where Huawei packages are misrouted to the United States.
FedEx sues the United States Department of Commerce, claiming that the government essentially deputizes the shipping giant to enforce its trade blacklist. The lawsuit follows a recent incident where Huawei reports that several of its packages are misrouted or erroneously diverted to the U.S. instead of their intended Asian destinations. FedEx states that the packages do not contain technology covered by the trade ban and attributes the routing errors to simple accidents.
In its court filing, FedEx argues that the current export ban places an unreasonable burden on the company to police the millions of sealed shipments that transit its network daily. The company insists that it already uses a sophisticated, proprietary risk-based compliance system to screen for entities on the national security risk list. However, FedEx maintains that expecting it to catch every restricted item in sealed boxes is a virtually impossible task logistically, economically, and legally.
The delivery company asks the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia to stop the Department of Commerce from enforcing these prohibitions under the Export Administration Regulations. FedEx argues that these rules violate its rights to due process under the Fifth Amendment. This legal battle unfolds as FedEx faces significant pressure in China, where authorities investigate the company for potential regulatory violations stemming from the Huawei misrouting incident.