STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AFP) – Huawei said that it has begun World Bank Group arbitration procedures against Sweden after the Nordic government barred the Chinese tech giant from rolling out its 5G equipment.
“The Swedish authorities’ decision to discriminate against Huawei and exclude it from the 5G rollout has significantly harmed Huawei’s investment in Sweden, in violation of Sweden’s international obligations,” the Chinese company told AFP.
As a result, the company “initiated arbitration proceedings” against the Kingdom of Sweden through the World Bank Group’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) “following a number of measures taken by the Swedish authorities directly targeting Huawei’s investments in Sweden and excluding Huawei from the rollout of 5G network products and services in the country.” Huawei added.
According to public broadcaster SVT, the first figure demanded was 5.2 billion Swedish kroner ($550 million, 495 million euros), but it might wind up being considerably more.
Following the United Kingdom in mid-2020, Sweden became the second nation in Europe and the first in the EU to specifically prohibit network operators from using Huawei equipment in the construction of infrastructure for its 5G network.
Sweden has also ordered Huawei to remove any existing equipment before January 1, 2025.
Following Huawei’s appeal, a Swedish court upheld the decision made by Sweden’s Post and Telecom Authority in June 2021.
The decision strained Sweden-China ties, with Beijing saying at the time that PTS’s decision might have “consequences” for the Scandinavian country’s enterprises in China, causing Swedish telecom major and Huawei competitor Ericsson to fear reprisal.