Huawei believes FedEx is diverting its China-bound parcels to the US without authorization, resulting in the telecoms equipment manufacturer reviewing its relationship with the US delivery service.
As Reuters reports, Huawei believes that a total of four packages sent from Huawei offices in Asia to China were instead diverted to the US. Reuters was allowed to view FedEx tracking records showing the diversion without authorization, but the authenticity of the records have not as yet been proven.
Huawei spokesman Joe Kelly explained, "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."
No technology was contained in these parcels, only documents of commercial value, but suspicion works both ways. The US government recently added Huawei to its "Entity List" of companies meaning government approval is required for it to buy certain items from US companies. Now Huawei is suspicious of any unusual behavior relating to the US, which includes unexplained parcel diversions.
As for FedEx, company spokeswoman Maury Donahue explained the parcels were simply "misrouted in error" and that the company did not receive a request to divert them, stating, "This is an isolated issue limited to a very small number of packages ... We are aware of all shipments at issue and are working directly with our customers to return the packages to their possession."
Of the four diverted Huawei parcels, one arrived at its intended destination on Friday and another is expected to arrive soon. There has been no comment from the US government as to whether the diversions were related to Huawei being added to the Entity List, and if this is a misrouting error by FedEx, then we shouldn't expect one.