Earlier this year, after the ban on Huawei by the United States, FedEx re-routed Huawei packages, which the courier company claimed to be an “operational error”. However, the Chinese authority suspected that and launched an investigation into the matter.

Now, as per the reports coming from the local media, Chinese state departments have found that FedEx’s previous statement on the incident was inconsistent with the facts but didn’t elaborate on the matter.

However, the report further reveals that the regulators found that FedEx had held back more than 100 Huawei-related shipments. This came to light as a result of an investigation by the Chinese authority. According to Xinhua, the relevant state departments will uphold the principles of “comprehensiveness, objectivity, and fairness and continue to carry out an in-depth investigation in accordance with the laws.”

FedEx released a statement in regards to the new development and said: “We have and will continue to fully cooperate with the Chinese authorities on the investigation and we are committed to full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. These shipments in question were handled while we were trying to comply with the US Department of Commerce order, which was unclear and resulted in considerable complexity for our operations.”

This issue has now become significant at a time when two of the world’s biggest economies are engaged in a trade war, which escalated when the US banned Chinese giant Huawei claiming national security without providing any proof for the claim.

A couple of months ago, in May, Huawei accused FedEx of diverting packages to the US without authorization, including two that the Chinese company had sent from Japan to its offices on the mainland. It also said FedEx had attempted to divert two more packages to the US that were sent from Vietnam and destined for the Chinese firm’s offices in Hong Kong and Singapore.

The incidents prompted Huawei to seek a review of its logistics and document delivery support requirements. At that time, FedEx denied the incident but the company later apologized for the unauthorized re-routing of packages, adding that “there were no external parties” involved in the erroneous shipment to the US.

A couple of days later, in early June 2019, China announced that it has launched an investigation into the incident. Just weeks after that, FedEx acknowledged another missed delivery due to an “operational error” from the UK to the US.

After these issues with FedEx, Chinese giant Huawei entered into a strategic alliance with China’s state-owned logistics giant China Post. Last month, FedEx sued the U.S. government claiming that it should not be held liable in case the company inadvertently shipped products that violated a Trump admin’s ban on exports to Chinese companies.

(Source, Via)

Up Next: FedEx sues the US Government over enforcing shipping restrictions to select Chinese companies

The post FedEx held back over 100 Huawei related shipments, reveals Chinese Authorities appeared first on Gizmochina.

FedEx, a US-based courier company is suing the U.S. government claiming that the company should not be held liable in case the company inadvertently shipped products that violated a Trump administration ban on exports to select Chinese companies.

In court filings in the District of Columbia, the company said it should not be expected to enforce the export ban, and could not reasonably be held liable for shipping products that it did not know about.

In the filing, the company said that the export restriction rules “essentially deputize FedEx to police the contents of the millions of packages it ships daily even though doing so is a virtually impossible task, logistically, economically, and in many cases, legally.”

In response, a U.S. Commerce Department spokesman said that “We have not yet reviewed the complaint, but nevertheless look forward to defending Commerce’s role in protecting U.S. national security.”

The U.S. Commerce Department has banned a number of Chinese firms in recent weeks from buying sensitive U.S. technology. Among them is the Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies which was added to the U.S. “Entity List”, barring it from buying U.S. technology upon which the company was heavily reliant.

This development comes after the company started drawing ire from China yet again related to its business practices. Last week, a package containing a Huawei smartphone sent to the United States was returned to its sender in Britain. The package was returned by the company because of a “U.S. government issue” but the company later described this incident as an “operational error.”

Last month, two parcels sent via FedEx destined for Huawei addresses in Asia were rerouted to the United States by the courier company. FedEx said the packages were “misrouted in error.” China has already launched an investigation over this matter.

FedEx has said that it would deliver all products made by Huawei to addresses other than those of Huawei and affiliates on the U.S. blacklist. United Parcel Service also said that it would not ship to Huawei addresses on the Entity List but confirmed that there’s no “general ban” on Huawei products.

However, a Huawei spokesman has said that the company has currently stopped FedEx or UPS services. Recently, Huawei took to Twitter to say that it was not within FedEx’s right to prevent the delivery and said the courier had a “vendetta.” China’s foreign ministry asked for a full explanation regarding this.

Up Next: Huawei to start rolling out EMUI 9.1 update to eligible smartphones from this week

The post FedEx sues US Govt over enforcing shipping restrictions to Huawei appeared first on Gizmochina.

The hits keep on coming for Huawei. After the infamous ban hit, numerous Huawei suppliers and partners around the world have ended relationships with the company. Now, you might not even be able to ship a Huawei phone reliably. PCMag tried to mail a P30 Pro from the UK to the US, and it was returned to sender because of the ongoing legal drama.

PCMag’s UK office had the P30 Pro on hand, and the New York office needed it. If this were any other phone, it would be a simple matter to ship it. However, PCMag’s staffer filled out the shipping form honestly and listed the phone’s model. The package left the UK via Parcelforce, a part of the Royal Mail system. FedEx got the package in the US, and five hours later it was back in the UK with a note blaming the US government action against Huawei.

The post FedEx refuses to deliver Huawei phone from UK to US appeared first on Gizmochina.

Huawei recently called out FedEx for attempting to reroute some of its packages to the US. While FedEx claimed it was done in error, the development prompted Huawei to issue a statement that it would re-evaluate its cooperation with the US courier company. The Chinese company has now gone into an alliance with China’s state-owned logistics giant China Post, a move that may not be unconnected with the FedEx issue.

China Post released a statement via a WeChat post that it’s forming a new “comprehensive strategic partnership” with Chinese telecoms giant Huawei. The Chinese courier firm stated that the two parties have signed a cooperation agreement which will see them deepening cooperation in finance, technology innovation, logistics, and talent cultivation. The post also revealed that Huawei’s co-chairman Eric Xu and China Post chairman Liu Aili were at the agreement signing ceremony held Wednesday. The partnership will see both companies set up a new technology application lab and a joint innovation center. 

This is in no way related to courier services but the timing is obviously a show of unity and this makes it special. Just a few days back, China’s postal regulator hinted that it will launch an investigation into US delivery company FedEx.

UP NEXT: Global smartphone shipments could decline in 2019 because of US-China trade war: Canalys

(source)

The post China Post and Huawei announce strategic partnership on the heels of FedEx saga appeared first on Gizmochina.

Huawei is said to be reviewing its relationship with the US-based multinational courier services provider, FedEx after it reportedly diverted a couple of Asia bound shipments to the US. This screw up comes at a time when China and US tensions are at an all-time high. FedEx has confirmed this mistake.

There were four shipments in total that were rerouted or attempted to be rerouted to the US. Two shipments originating from one of Huawei’s suppliers in Japan were headed to its China branch, while the other two originated from another supplier from Vietnam and were headed for the company’s branches in Asia. The shipments from Japan were rerouted, without authorization from Huawei or its sender, to the US. The other two shipments from Vietnam were also attempted to be rerouted to the US.

FedEx has said that these shipments were ‘misrouted in error’ and it was not made on the directions of any third party.

“This is an isolated issue limited to a very small number of packages,” said FedEx, in a statement to Reuters, referring to the four parcels affected. “We are aware of all shipments at issue and are working directly with our customers to return the packages to their possession.”

The company has even formally published an apology letter on China’s Weibo regarding this goof up. It reiterates that this was a shipping error and there are no external third parties involved.

However, considering the rising tensions between the two world superpowers, Huawei didn’t take it lightly. In a statement to the Reuters, Huawei spokesperson said,

“The recent experiences where important commercial documents sent via FedEx were not delivered to their destination, and instead were either diverted to, or were requested to be diverted to, FedEx in the United States, undermines our confidence. We will now have to review our logistics and document delivery support requirements as a direct result of these incidents,”

Huawei also confirmed that the said shipments only had documents. So, there wasn’t any technology involved.

The timing of this goof up from FedEx couldn’t have come at the worst time. With even non-US companies like ARM and Panasonic struggling to keep relationship with Huawei, the company is in a tight spot right now. After this, we’ll have to wait and see if Huawei continues to work with FedEx in the future.

UP NEXT: World’s First Touch Screen Toothbrush Incoming!

(Source)

The post Huawei reviewing relationship with US-based FedEx after it reportedly diverts Shipments appeared first on Gizmochina.