FedEx Corp. , after botching some deliveries for Huawei Technologies Co., filed a lawsuit Monday to stop the U.S. government from requiring the package giant to enforce a crackdown on the Chinese telecommunications-gear maker.
The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Washington, D.C., claims the U.S. Commerce Department’s latest restrictions are essentially forcing FedEx to police millions of packages it ships daily to ensure prohibited items aren’t being exported to Huawei. It is a task, FedEx claims, that is legally and logistically impossible.
“FedEx is a transportation company, not a law-enforcement agency,” the company said in a statement.
A spokesman for the Commerce Department said it hadn’t yet reviewed FedEx’s complaint but the agency intended to defend its role in U.S. national security.
The Commerce Department, citing national-security concerns, said in May it was adding Huawei and its affiliates to its “entity list,” preventing companies from supplying U.S.-origin technology to Huawei without U.S. government approval.
Huawei has warned the U.S. restrictions could knock as much as $30 billion from its revenue this year and next. Several U.S. suppliers, including chip maker Broadcom Inc.,have warned of a hit to their own sales from the escalating trade dispute.
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