FedEx sues US government over export rules in Huawei case

FedEx said that the US Department of Commerce has placed an "impossible burden" on it to know the origin and technological make-up of all the shipments it handles and whether they comply with the EAR. (Photo: Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

A lawsuit filed by FedEx against the U.S. government over export rules follows a dispute over diverted shipments that were intended for Huawei Technologies, the Chinese telecommunications-equipment giant.

The lawsuit challenges changes to export rules designed to keep technology out of the hands of entities or people that the U.S. government considers potential risks to national security.

In May, the U.S. government added Huawei to a list of entities and people barred from receiving U.S. technology without a special license from the Commerce Department. Shortly after that, Huawei complained about FedEx diverting several company shipments.

The delivery company complains that the rules are impossible to comply with both practically and maybe legally.

It sued the Commerce Department and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in federal district court in Washington on Monday.