Huawei takes Sweden to court after 5G ban – Technology
Published on January 31, 2022 08:23
Huawei has not specified what damages it wants.
STOCKHOLM (AFP) – Huawei said that they have initiated an 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 5G expansion has significantly damaged Huawei’s investment in Sweden, in violation of Sweden’s international commitments,” the Chinese company said in a statement to AFP.
The company had therefore “initiated arbitration” under the World Bank’s International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) “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 launching 5G network products and services. in the country, “Huawei 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 dollars, 495 million euros), but it could end up being 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 by 1 January 2025.
Following an appeal from Huawei, a Swedish court in June 2021 upheld the decision of the Swedish Post and Telecom Agency.
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, which makes the Swedish telecom giant and Huawei competitor Ericsson fear reprisals.