Huawei dropped a lawsuit filed against the US government in June, after the latter returned telecommunications equipment seized from the vendor two years ago.

A separate lawsuit filed in March challenging a US government ban on federal agencies using its kit still stands.

In September 2017, the Department of Commerce confiscated equipment, including computer servers, Ethernet switches and other telecommunications kit, as it was being shipped back to China after testing and certification at a lab in California. Authorities claimed an export licence was required to ship the equipment, an assertion Huawei disputed.

After unsuccessfully requesting the return of the gear over the following year and a half, Huawei filed suit in an attempt to recover the equipment. The US government subsequently returned the kit in August after an investigation determined no export licence was necessary.

Huawei chalked up the move as a win, noting in a press release it views the return of the equipment as “a tacit admission that the seizure itself was unlawful and arbitrary”.

However, Huawei’s chief legal officer Song Liuping said the company is disappointed the government failed to provide an explanation for its “unlawful” actions, adding the incident “should serve as a cautionary tale for all companies doing normal business in the United States”.