Huawei’s international expansion may have resulted in the company running afoul of U.S. export law, according to the New York Times.
The Department of Commerce has subpoenaed Huawei seeking information about the company’s business dealings in Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria. Specifically, the Commerce Department wants to know if Huawei exported or re-exported American-made technology to these countries, which have varying degrees of sanctions in place blocking certain tech exports. At this point, the Commerce Department is merely gathering information and Huawei has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
Huawei representatives told the Times it complies with the laws and regulations of the countries in which it operates. The Commerce Department conducted a similar investigation of China-based ZTE, which the government says willfully violated U.S. export laws in order to ship American products to Iran.
It’s not clear if the subpoenaed information will lead to charges against Huawei.
