Head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection resigns.

June 25, 2019 By in Uncategorized Leave a comment

John Sanders

John Sanders, source: cbp.gov

Acting head of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, John P. Sanders, announced his resignation in a message to CBP. Customs and Border Protection operates the overall 400 ports of entry, border patrol and the controversy surrounding the processing of illegal immigrants in the recent news.

The resignation by John Sanders comes at a time where Customs is being heavily criticized by the Democrat party for the detention facility conditions. It is unclear whether the resignation is a response to the current reports of poor conditions at processing facilities.

FedEx sues Commerce Department.

June 25, 2019 By in FedEx, Huawei, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , Leave a comment
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On Monday June 24th, FedEx filed a lawsuit against the the U.S. Department of Commerce to avoid having to follow the BIS entity list restrictions the government imposed back in May against doing business with Huawei.

A FedEx statement said “FedEx is a transportation company, not a law enforcement agency,” and that the EAR violates a shipping company’s rights to due process under the Fifth Amendment because all shipping companies are strictly liable for shipments that violate the Export Administration Regulations; without requiring evidence the shippers had knowledge of any violations.

In short, FedEx claims compliance with the new EAR regulations is impossible because FedEx cannot know the origin and technological make-up of all the contents of the shipments it handles.

Will post updates as soon as they are available.

China wants answers why FedEx refused to ship Huawei phone.

June 24, 2019 By in FedEx, Uncategorized Leave a comment
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As a follow-up to yesterday’s article about Huawei returning the shipment of a Huawei smartphone from the UK to the US, China’s Foreign Ministry has requested to know why FedEx refused to deliver the phone to the US.

While FedEx issued a statement already blaming an “operational error”, FedEx has said it will continue to ship all Huawei products to any address other than those of Huawei and its affiliates.

This is the second such instance where FedEx did not deliver Huawei equipment. Earlier this year, Huawei redirected a shipment of Huawei equipment.

Huawei has shipped 100 million smartphones YTD.

June 24, 2019 By in Huawei, Uncategorized Leave a comment
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According to Reuters, Huawei smartphone sales in Western Europe are increasing despite Huawei’s inclusion on the BIS entity list. While Huawei expects a $30 billion loss in revenue due to this new ban, existing phones sold before the end of the 90-day reprieve will not be affected by a future ban. Huawei has guaranteed current users of phones and apps would be supported even though Google support for future Huawei phones would end in August.

As the second largest smartphone maker behind Samsung, Huawei has shipped 100 million smartphones as of May 30th this year.

Despite the large number of phones shipped, the ban against Huawei may result in the delay of future phones – such as their foldable 5G Mate X phone.

If you have questions how the Huawei ban may impact your company, contact David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com, dh@gjatradelaw.com.

Huawei may use Aurora or HongMeng OS for future smartphones.

June 24, 2019 By in Huawei, Uncategorized Tags: Leave a comment
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After Huawei’s inclusion on the BIS entity list, US companies such as Google have to withdraw the Android license from Huawei and therefore future smartphones by Huawei will not be able to use Google’s Play Store, and access to popular apps like Google Maps, YouTube and more.

Because of the potential to lose the Android OS, GizmoChina has reported that Huawei is looking into use of the Aurora Operating system in addition to Huawei’s inhouse “HongMeng” operating system, also called ArkOS.

Even though Huawei is already on the entity list, there is a 90-day period in which the ban will take effect.

FCC Commissioner wants Huawei gear out of US networks.

June 23, 2019 By in entity list, FCC, Huawei, Uncategorized Tags: , Leave a comment

 

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Geoffrey Starks, source: FCC.gov

In another blow to Huawei, the current acting FCC commissioner, Democrat Geoffrey Starks says the US government should replace Chinese telecommunications gear currently installed on US networks.

As you are aware, the Commerce Department added Huawei to the BIS entity list in May of this year over concerns the Chinese government’s connection to Huawei could compromise US national security. Huawei’s addition to the entity list prohibits US companies from supplying parts and service to Huawei.

The reason the FCC commissioner wants to remove all Huawei equipment is out of fear foreign governments may disrupt US communication networks during times of national emergencies.

The full cnet interview is an interesting read if you have time and can be found here.

If you or your company supplies equipment to Huawei and want to know how the entity list inclusion of Huawei will impact your business, contact David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com, dh@gjatradelaw.com.

Huawei files lawsuit against Commerce Department for seizing equipment.

June 22, 2019 By in Huawei, Uncategorized Tags: , , Leave a comment
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According to Reuters, Huawei Technologies Company, Inc. filed suit against the U.S. Department of Commerce on Friday the 21st claiming the seizure of telecommunications equipment sent from China to the US and back to China was not covered under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).

Specifically, Huawei claims the equipment was not subject to a license requirement because it did not fit into a controlled category (ECCN) as the hardware was being returned to China from which it came.

The equipment seized is a computer server and ethernet switch sent to California for testing and then seized on the shipment back to China.

Will post more updates as they become available.

FedEx mistakenly returns Huawei phone.

June 22, 2019 By in Uncategorized Leave a comment
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A tech writer from the UK tried to send a Huawei mobile phone to the US, but the phone was returned. The shipper in the UK filled out a form indicating the make and model of the phone (Huawei) and was surprised to have the phone returned to him without reaching the US.

As you are aware, Huawei was recently added to the BIS “Entity List” that prevents companies from exporting goods to Huawei. However, this ban does not impact individuals who are shipping phones.

FedEx did indicate the phone was returned by mistake and that they are aware there is no ban on shipment of Huawei products.

Huawei may seek higher royalties from US firms relying on Huawei’s 5G patents.

June 22, 2019 By in Huawei, Uncategorized Tags: , Leave a comment
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Reuters reported Huawei asked Verizon to pay $1 billion in royalties for use of more than 230 of Huawei’s patents on network equipment. In addition to Verizon, the Huawei CEO, Ren Zhengfei indicated Huawei may seek more royalties from other companies.

As reported by CNBC, Huawei has more than 69,000 patents worldwide and 49,379 patents pending – with 57% of patents in China and 18% in the US.

The request for additional royalties is likely due to Huawei’s inclusion on the BIS entity list, which resulted in Huawei forecasting a loss of $30 billion in revenue this year. As the ban will impact Huawei’s smartphone business, Huawei is likely to focus on other avenues for revenue – patent royalties.

EU to import more US beef.

June 20, 2019 By in beef, European Union, Uncategorized Tags: Leave a comment
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The European Commission reached an agreement with the United States to allow the importation of more hormone-free US beef into the European market, allowing US farmers to import up to 35,000 tons of beef.

Hormone treated beef has been banned in Europe since the 1980’s and in 2002 the proponents of the ban were further strengthened when an EU scientific committee reviewed 17 studies and confirmed the use of hormones as a growth promoter raised the health risk to consumers.