• Huawei just upped the ante in its fight with the US over its telecommunication devices.
• The Chinese tech giant on Thursday announced it has filed a lawsuit against the US government, which has banned its federal agents from using the equipment citing privacy concerns.
• In a press conference on Thursday, the company claimed the US government has failed to produce evidence to back up concerns that the company poses a security threat, and it said the US government has acted unconstitutionally.

Huawei just upped the ante in its fight with America over its telecommunication devices.

The Chinese tech giant announced on Thursday local time that it has filed a lawsuit against the US government over a law which which bans government agencies from buying or using their equipment.

The lawsuit zeroes in on a law known as the The National Defense Authorization Act which specifies the annual budget of the US Department of Defense. The act determines funding and policies for agencies under the department.

A provision known as Section 889 was signed into law by President Trump in August, and prohibits the use of equipment or services explicitly from Huawei to any federal agencies or their contractors.

The US has long voiced concerns that Huawei technology – along with its fellow Chinese telecom company ZTE – could pose a security risk, fearing that the company’s technology could act as a backdoor for the Chinese government to spy.

In a press conference on Thursday, the company claimed the US government has failed to produce evidence to back up concerns that the company poses a security threat, adding that the provision is unconstitutional.

“The US Congress has repeatedly failed to produce any evidence to support its restrictions on Huawei products. We are compelled to take this legal action as a proper and last resort,” Huawei Rotating Chairman Guo Ping stated.

Huawei’s ties to the Chinese government have come under scrutiny, and the US has called the Chinese phone giant “duplicitous and deceitful.”

“The supply chain is global – numerous other companies manufacture products in, or use components or manufacturers in China. And some major telecom companies operate joint ventures with the Chinese government, but the NDAA has signaled out a few and ignored the back of the supply chain,” Song Luiping, Huawei Chief Legal Officer said.

The US has ramped up political pressure on Huawei in recent months, requesting the extradition of its CFO Meng Zhou, who was arrested in Canada in December, and has lobbied its allies to reject its 5G equipment which is making its way across the world.

Allies, like Australia and New Zealand, have banned Huawei and ZTE from supplying tech for their networks, citing major security risks.

Isobel Asher Hamilton contributed to this report.

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