Alibaba Wins US Injunction Against Pentagon Lobbying Rule
TL;DR
- A federal judge in San Jose granted Alibaba a preliminary injunction blocking a Pentagon rule tying DoD contracts to lobbying work for the company.
- The ruling lets Alibaba keep US lobbyists who also represent Pentagon contractors, but does not lift its Section 1260H blacklisting.
- From 2027, the 1260H designation also restricts Pentagon purchases of listed firms' products through third parties, raising the stakes on Alibaba's broader challenge.
A federal judge in San Jose has temporarily blocked a Pentagon rule that barred the Department of Defense from contracting with any firm whose lobbyists also work for Alibaba, Bloomberg reports. The preliminary injunction, issued Monday, lets Alibaba retain US lobbyists who also represent Pentagon contractors.
The ruling does not remove Alibaba from the Pentagon's "Chinese Military Companies" list, formally the Section 1260H roster. That broader challenge remains live.
"The determinations have no basis in fact or law," Alibaba said in its June lawsuit, which also argued its products and services are built for retail, logistics and enterprise technology rather than defense or intelligence. The company sits on the list alongside search provider Baidu and EV maker BYD.
The 1260H designation does not impose formal sanctions. It does restrict Pentagon contracts with listed companies and, from 2027, purchases of their products or services through third parties. Monday's injunction peels one pressure point off while the merits play out.
It is the latest federal contracting dispute on our regulation tracker, after the DOJ's appeal of a ruling that lifted a Trump-administration ban on Anthropic for federal agencies.
Originally reported by bloomberg.com
Read the original article →Original headline: Federal Judge Blocks Pentagon Ban on Hiring Alibaba Lobbyists in Chinese Military Blacklist Fight