Huawei said on Sunday it had initiated arbitration proceedings against Sweden under the aegis of the World Bank Group, after the Chinese telecoms giant was banned from selling its 5G products in the Nordic country.
“The Swedish authorities’ decision to discriminate against Huawei and exclude it from the 5G launch has seriously harmed Huawei’s investments in Sweden, in violation of Sweden’s international commitments,” the Chinese company said in a statement.
It therefore “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 a number of measures taken by the Swedish authorities directly targeting Huawei’s investments in Sweden and excluding Huawei from the launch of products and services for the country’s 5G network,” she added.
Huawei did not specify the amount of damages claimed. According to public broadcaster SVI, the sum initially requested was 5.2 billion Swedish crowns (around C$700 million), but could end up being much higher.
Like the UK in mid-2020, Sweden has become the second European country – and the first in the EU – to specifically ban telephone operators from using Huawei equipment in the implementation of the 5G network. from the country.
Sweden also ordered Huawei to remove equipment already installed by January 1, 2025.
After an appeal by Huawei, a Swedish court upheld the decision of the Swedish Post and Telecommunications Authority (PTS) in June 2021.
The measure has damaged relations between Sweden and China. Beijing had at the time warned the decision of PTS could have “consequences” for Swedish companies established in China, raising fears of reprisals to the Swedish telecom giant Ericsson, competitor of Huawei.