Huawei is suing Sweden for its exclusion from 5G

Huawei announced today, Sunday, that it has initiated arbitration proceedings against Sweden under the auspices of the World Bank Group, after banning the Chinese telecommunications giant from selling its 5G products in the Nordic country.

“The decision of the Swedish authorities to discriminate against Huawei and to exclude 5G equipment has seriously damaged Huawei’s investments in Sweden, in violation of Sweden’s international commitments,” the Chinese company said in a statement.

As a result, Huawei “initiated arbitration proceedings (…) against the Kingdom of Sweden” before the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), which belongs to the World Bank Group, “following a number of measures taken by the Swedish “Principles that directly target Huawei’s investments in Sweden and exclude Huawei from providing products and services for the country’s 5G network,” he added.

Huawei did not specify the amount of damages claimed. According to public television SVI, the amount initially requested was SEK 5.2 billion (EUR 495 million), but could be much higher in the end.

After the United Kingdom in mid-2020, Sweden became the second European country – and the first in the EU – to specifically ban telephone providers from using Huawei infrastructure to operate the country’s 5G network.

Sweden has also instructed Huawei to remove the equipment it had already installed on its territory by 1 January 2025.

Following an appeal by Huawei, a Swedish court upheld the decision of the Swedish Post and Telecommunications Authority (PTS) in June 2021.

The measure overshadowed relations between Sweden and China. Beijing had warned at the time that PTS ‘decision could have “consequences” for Swedish companies “established” in China, raising fears of retaliation against Swedish telecommunications giant Ericsson, a rival to Huawei.

SOURCE: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ

Source: Capital

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