Huawei says FedEx redirected packages to the U.S. without its authorization

Huawei is reviewing its relationship with FedEx after the courier service diverted packages bound for Asia to the U.S.

What you need to know

• Huawei says FedEx diverted two packages bound for Asian addresses to the U.S.
• FedEx attempted to reroute two more parcels to the U.S.
• The packages consisted solely documents and no Huawei technology.

Huawei is still dealing with the fallout from the trade ban, and it now looks like the Chinese manufacturer will have to find a new package delivery service. According to Reuters, Huawei is reviewing its relationship with FedEx after it found that the courier service diverted two packages that were bound for Huawei's China offices to the U.S.

Huawei said that two packages sent to its Chinese offices from Japan were redirected to the U.S., with FedEx attempting to divert two more packages sent from Vietnam to other Huawei offices in Asia. The diverted packages ended up in FedEx's headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee. In both instances, the packages contained "urgent documents" and no Huawei technology.

This was apparently done without the Chinese manufacturer's authorization, and Huawei spokesman Joe Kelly told the publication that it "undermines" the company's confidence in FedEx:

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.

FedEx, meanwhile, stated that the packages were "misrouted in error," and that there was no "external pressure" to divert the four packages:

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.

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out, but it could be an isolated incident that has no correlation to Huawei's trade ban. That said, if things don't work out with FedEx, there's always DHL.