Integrator files lawsuit to prevent Department of Commerce enforcing prohibitions that put ‘an impossible burden on a common carrier’.
FedEx has filed a lawsuit challenging the US Commerce Department on the grounds that the logistics company should not be held to account if it unwittingly ships goods that contravene the Trump administration’s ban on exports relating to some Chinese technology firms.
The filing in Washington DC to the US District Court in the District of Columbia seeks to prevent the US Department of Commerce from enforcing prohibitions contained in the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), which it argues “puts an impossible burden on a common carrier such as FedEx to know the origin and technological make-up of contents of all the shipments it handles and whether they comply with the EAR”.
The court filing does not refer to Huawei specifically but comes after another apparent service failure on the part of the US package delivery company with regard to a shipment relating to the Chinese telecoms equipment maker.
The latest incident was highlighted by PCMag, whose correspondent in the UK had attempted to send a Huawei P30 handset to a colleague in the US. FedEx returned the phone and told the sender that it could not deliver the package because of a “US government issue” with Huawei and the Chinese government, the publication noted.
FedEx said the package in question had been mistakenly returned to the shipper and apologised for an “operational error”. The company added that it was trying to minimize disruptions to customers as “we adjust operations to comply with a dynamic US regulatory environment”.
At the end of last month, Huawei said it was reviewing its dealings with FedEx after it claimed the Memphis-based operator had diverted two parcels destined for Huawei addresses in Asia to the US and attempted to ‘divert’ two others, without detailed explanation.
Huawei’s complaint triggered a sharp riposte from the Chinese government who announced that it would draw up a list of “unreliable” foreign companies while also investigating whether FedEx had damaged the interests of Chinese customers, raising fears that it could be blacklisted by Beijing.
In the wake of the latest incident, Reuters quoted a Huawei spokesman who said the Chinese firm was not currently using either FedEx’s or UPS’ services. Last Sunday, Huawei tweeted that it was not within FedEx’s right to prevent the delivery and said its actions constituted a “vendetta”.
The Trump administration has pushed through measures to limit business with Huawei over alleged security concerns and directed US companies to sever all ties with the firm.
The US Commerce Department placed Huawei and around 70 of its affiliates on a trade ‘blacklist’ or ‘entity list’, requiring Huawei to seek prior approval from the US government before buying any American parts.
In a statement on the lawsuit filing issued earlier this week , FedEx said: “FedEx believes that the EAR violate common carriers’ rights to due process under the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution as they unreasonably hold common carriers strictly liable for shipments that may violate the EAR without requiring evidence that the carriers had knowledge of any violations.
It contended that the EAR, as currently constructed and implemented, placed “an unreasonable burden on FedEx to police the millions of shipments that transit our network every day,” adding, “FedEx is a transportation company, not a law enforcement agency.”
Source: Lloyd’s
