One of the final acts of the Trump presidency was the escalation of the trade war against China. This came by way of a Huawei-lite ban on Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi. The pretext or reason for this action was based supposed links between Xiaomi and the Chinese Military.
The Xiaomi ban prohibited US citizens and companies from investing in the company. Unlike the Huawei ban, Xiaomi didn’t lose access to essentials like Google’s services and access to US chipmaker Qualcomm’s hardware.
There was, however, little in the way of exposition when it came to Xiaomi’s links to the Chinese Military but this didn’t stop the Trump Administration from dolling out punishment anyway.
Xiaomi fights back
Like any business in this predicament, Xiaomi filed a lawsuit against the US government. The basis of the litigation was that the Trump Administration was unlawful and unconstitutional.
The Chinese smartphone maker also bemoaned the fact that restricting access to investment would be detrimental to its prospects. Furthermore, the company said that most of its stakeholders were American investment groups and that co-founders Lin Bin and Lei Jun (who hold three-quarters of Xiaomi’s voting rights) had no affiliation with the Chinese Military.
The Biden Administration lifts the ban
In a report by Bloomberg it looks like the two parties have come to some sort of agreement.
“The Parties have agreed upon a path forward that would resolve this litigation without the need for contested briefing”
Filing obtained by Bloomberg
The report goes on to say that the filling didn’t outline any conditions for the removal of the ban. However the parties are negotiating the finer details and will file a joint proposal before the 20th of May 2021.
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