Huawei goes to the World Bank over Sweden’s 5G ban
Huawei Technologies Co (華為) said on Sunday that they have initiated arbitration proceedings against Sweden under the World Bank Group after the Nordic country banned the Chinese technology giant from rolling out its 5G products.
“The Swedish authorities’ decision to discriminate against Huawei and exclude it from the expansion of 5G has significantly damaged Huawei’s investment in Sweden, in violation of Sweden’s international commitments,” the Chinese company said in a statement.
The company had therefore “initiated arbitration” under the World Bank’s International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes “against the Kingdom of Sweden following a number of measures taken by the Swedish authorities directly targeting Huawei’s investments in Sweden and excluding Huawei from expanding 5G network products and services in country “, the company added.
Huawei did not specify what damages were requested, but according to public broadcaster SVT, the initial amount requested was 5.2 billion Swedish kronor (550 million US $, 495 million euros), but it can be much higher.
After the United Kingdom in mid-2020, Sweden became the second country in Europe and the first in the EU to explicitly ban network operators from using Huawei equipment in the construction of the infrastructure needed to operate their 5G networks.
Sweden also ordered Huawei to remove already installed equipment no later than January 1, 2025. Following an appeal from Huawei, a Swedish court upheld the decision of the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority in June last year.
The decision strained relations between Sweden and China, where Beijing then warned that PTS’s decision could have “consequences” for the Scandinavian country’s companies in China.
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